Walking the parade route up and down Washington Street yesterday, camera in hand, I took in my surroundings looking for great photo opportunities.
As I checked the settings on the camera, considered the lighting around me and sized up my angle choices, I could hear people yelling out to me to take their picture.  Looking around I started to focus on the subjects themselves and not just the technical side of a good picture.
Families were color coordinated, couples cozying up to each other, fathers hoisting their children on their shoulders to get a bird’s eye view, teenagers in clusters talking and laughing.  The perfect glimpse into the inner workings of a community.
The weather felt like it was special ordered “parade weather” and everyone was in high spirits. My wife and I had our first date during Mardi Gras six years ago and it was a similarly beautiful day down in New Orleans.  I can still hear her yelling “over here, over here” in hopes of catching some beads thrown from the colorful floats passing us by.
Today was no different in that she was still yelling at the floats going by, but now instead of being in another city, we enjoyed the day in our adopted hometown. I’ve said it often, Vicksburg is a great town to live in and my family is blessed to be accepted into this community.  With my wife and son on the sidelines and me close by snapping pictures, we were just another family in the middle of the crowded streets, doing our part to make this great place we call home thrive.
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Paul Barry is the managing editor and can be reached by email at paul.barry@vicksburgpost.com or by phone at 601-636-4545 ext. 123.