Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

When I was a kid me and my buddies used to march with the Italian American war veterans in the Memorial Day parade. We wore oversized helmets, leggings and stuff like that. We thought it was the greatest thing in the world. We were so proud to march and then go to the party at the club’s headquarters afterwards.

There was a shortened version of the Memorial Day parade on Sunday. It’s a good thing they didn’t have to march on Highland Avenue up at the high school because the road is horrible. I’m not quite sure why they used a shortened version this year but it could be because of the condition of the roads. I did not go to the parade myself but my Facebook friends chimed in with their opinions of this year’s parade. Each person’s comment is in quotations.
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“You cannot walk on Highland Ave. It’s so bad. This is not a parade it’s a walk up the street, it used to be the best parade!”

“My father was a Somerville cop when we lived there in the 70’s and we lived on Highland Ave. That parade was forever. So sad it’s that small now!”

“No parade, people complain. Parade happens, people complain. Do a large parade that people want, and people complain about the inconvenience and expense.”

“Although it was only about 15 minutes long it was still a good parade for a great cause to honor our war heroes that have passed.”

“It was very enjoyable!”

“The route was short, but I think that once Highland Ave. is re-done it will return to its original length. The thing I’m dreading is Highland Ave. being drastically and radically altered to conform with the new standards in urban roadway idiocy with granite bump-outs and so on that we’ve seen around town (and elsewhere) in the recent past.

We can’t forget the most important part of Memorial Day, and that is our fallen heroes. Thank you to all who participated.