There were carriages and old-time cars and mounted units and dogs and log canoes on trailers and even llamas! Lots of candy thrown to the kiddies. One Santa on a motorcycle, one Santa in a sleigh, and one Santa on top of a huge Army vehicle. The girls were bundled up in two layers of fleece and strapped in the double jogstroller and didn't say much - they might have been frozen, but I think Elisabeth liked the dogs in the parade. We collected lots of candy for them.
The Santa on top of the huge Army vehicle was very interesting. He was preceded by one of those big black Suburbans you often see around Washington, DC in official motorcades. The man driving the Suburban had a phone earpiece in his ear, but I just figured he was a cell phone addict. Then I saw the Army vehicle after that had another five or six guys in plain trench coats (without holiday attire) walking slowly along beside it as an escort. They also had earpieces, every one of them. Santa was sitting way on top of the vehicle in typical Santa gear, with a blonde woman sitting next to him, presumably his wife. Curiously, there were no signs on the big vehicle identifying it or saying what local business was sponsoring it.
I took a photo of Santa, which I'll try to post later. I'm not sure if it was Vice President Dick Cheney or Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, but I'm sure it was one of the two, since they both have houses in our little town. I'll have to enlarge the photo later to try to figure it out for sure. Those are the only two people I can think of who would have that big of a Secret Service escort around here. Our little town attracts a lot of celebrities, but most of them travel more or less incognito in these parts, which suits them and the locals both just fine.
I'm thinking Dick Cheney, since Mrs. Santa next to him looked a whole lot like Lynn Cheney. But wait, Joyce Rumsfeld would look similar from a distance, too. Hmm.
I don't know! I'm pretty sure it will never make the national news, though. This is classic small town America - that's why we're here. I surmise that their parade unit was sponsored by The Average American Taxpayer.
Here's my photo - still can't tell a thing! It's possible it was some Maryland official, too (I did notice in other photos the truck had a "Save the Bay" sign and Maryland flags), but if so I don't understand the huge security detail. Note the two (of several) Secret Service walking escort guys in trenchcoats, the one in the foreground talking on his Super-duper Secret Service radio.
3 comments:
Rumsfeld came out to watch us filming FLAG OF OUR FATHERS at Iwo Jima that day. He wanted to meet Clint Eastwood, I think.
There were plenty of his press people around taking pics of that photo opp! If he was Santa, why WOULDN'T it make the news? I think that's much more newsworthy than 95% of the stuff that makes it onto our local news!
I think it must have been a pretty hush-hush thing, when he wasn't even identified on the vehicle! I didn't see any mention of it in the local news. Maybe after-the-fact they will have it.
Hi Nancy. Just read your profile. WOW! You're accomplished so much! I hope my "resume" looks something close to yours someday :)
Looks like I am studying the same things you have, too.
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