The End of Summer

Our town has a very big celebration this weekend.  Four days of carnival rides, funnel cake and the best small town parade that you've ever seen!  Ever!  We are celebrating the defeat of a very famous bank robber and bringing an official end to the summer season.

If you come to our town this weekend you'll see all the typical Fall changes.  Front porch geraniums become buckets bursting with orange mums and haystacks piled with pumpkins.  Little sisters become big kids and everyone has officially graduated to the next grade.  Stay at home moms find themselves with empty rooms after everyone goes off to school and the farmer's market is loaded with tables of apples.

But ours is not the typical end to summer.  We wait until the weekend after Labor Day in this town, and all sorts of ordinary things become something quite extraordinary.  The empty field by the river becomes a carnival and the mayor starts riding a horse.  The dog park becomes a rodeo and the downtown streets are filled with music and street food.  People that grew up next door become royalty and little boys on bicycles get to be cowboys...even if it's only for a few days.

Quite extraordinary.