Recyclers Activate for the Highland Parade

Wanna do good for mother earth while you revel at the Highland Parade this year? Consider joining Andy and Jon. They said they had a blast doing it last year and were astounded at how much they collected!

This year, the mighty Highland Parade celebrates its 25^th anniversary on February 14 (start time 2 PM) with the timely yet tasteful theme of “Highland Goes Green.” To that, Dear Reader, we say, “OK.” Once again, Jon and I arrive modestly (albeit with our hats set at a rakish tilt) to ask for your assistance and to spew forth offers you can’t beat. Said rewards include:

1. We are once again coordinating recycling efforts during parade staging (10 AM – 2 PM) at Byrd High School and are looking for some folks to help us with that. Local recycler, Hughes Recycling, is accepting everything that we collect, so nobody has to take anything home—our job will be to staff a recycling tent and to help the parade participants recycle their stuff (breaking down cardboard boxes, loading up the collection bins, etc). It’s pretty cool to hang out during the staging process, and if you’ll just smile at folks, you might even score a free burger or two.
2. However, because we are thinking about you the whole time, we have also reserved a slot in the parade for a pedestrian (in the walking sense) float. We are not committed to participate, but we have the option to be a part of the parade with a float that has no motorized vehicles (e.g., we could walk, bike, crawl, etc). Should we do this, kids would be welcome to participate. We have no formal concept in mind, so if anyone has any ideas, we’re interested. Being thinkin’ flellers, we have already considered the obvious stuff for a green-themed outing—recycling-bin drill teams, compost bins on wheels, etc--but we would be willing to consider your ridiculous idea as well.

This offer is for a limited time only; hurry and act now before the supplies run out. We ask that anyone who is interested in either (or both) of these activities contact me or Jon and let us know. We are committed to doing the first of these, and if there is sufficient interest, we could do the second as well. (There is a chance—although uncertain at present—that Montessori School parents could earn some service hours for the setup).

So what’s this about the parade happening on Valentine’s Day, you ask. Won’t that be a scheduling conflict? Well, Mr. Pitt/Ms. Jolie, we really don’t think so. Those of you with kids are certainly not going to be doing much Valentining on a Sunday afternoon, I’ll tell you that. And if your Valentine’s Day plans include weeping all sad and lonely by the cabin door, we can help with that too. Contact us; we would love to see you there. (And if you know someone who may be interested, please forward this email to him/her, as we have worked with weird folks in the past and are unafraid to do so again).

Andy Goldthwaite: cgoldthwaite@comcast.com

Jon Soul: jonksoul@gmail.com