Reporter’s Notebook -- Jose Paul Corona

I’m not a very patriotic person.

That’s what I told my editor as we discussed the 98th annual Fourth of

July Parade.

I’m a natural cynic, maybe that’s it.

My editor let me know that she was very patriotic. She tried to convey

to me what it would be like to attend the parade and write a story about

it for this week’s paper.

The parade is a big deal. People decorate their homes. They stake out

spots along the parade route in advance. That’s what she told me.

I’m a Southern California native, but I’d never been to the parade. In

fact, the only thing I knew about it was that there was rioting some

years back.

As the parade approached I got information about it from the city and

I found out exactly how much of a big deal it was. I also found out who

would be attending. So my expectations naturally grew.

And I will admit that I was truly impressed.

I ended up walking the entire parade route twice. I arrived at Pacific

Coast Highway and Main Street shortly before 10 a.m.

I began walking down Main Street to see what the turnout would be like

and I just kept on walking. There wasn’t a stretch of that parade route

that wasn’t occupied.

People sat in lawn chairs, they sat on the sidewalk and they camped

out in their frontyards.

They all wore red, white and blue.

It seemed like everyone brought their dogs with them, and even they

wore the stars and stripes.

Each and every home was decorated in some way. The flag was either

prominently displayed or there were red, white and blue ribbons

somewhere.

The faces of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr. were taped to the three palm trees in front of one home.

People climbed on top of their motor homes to get a better view of the

parade and some people planted themselves along the median on Main

Street.

Everyone was having a good time and everyone was talking to each

other, laughing and just enjoying the first Fourth of July after the

terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

As veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam marched down the parade

route, everyone cheered loudly. They showed the vets their appreciation

for there past service.

When Huntington Beach firefighters appeared at Pacific Coast Highway

and Main Street the crowd went berserk and erupted in cheers.

I’ve only seen that kind of response on the news in old footage of the

Beatles arriving in the states is broadcast.

It was encouraging to see so many people come together to celebrate

Independence Day.

When the parade finally came to end I found myself at the ocean. My

car was at the Civic Center so I had to walk there. As I made my way down

the parade route that second time, not much had changed. There were less

people, but the mood was still the same. Everyone was happy to be there.

As I got near Huntington Beach High School I saw two firefighters

walking toward me. A group of people standing in their frontyard greeted

them and invited them to their party.

The men seemed reluctant at first, but after some cajoling they

stopped to talk to the party-goers.

The two rowdy men standing in their frontyard, thanked the

firefighters for all of their hard work and told them how much they

appreciated them.

The events of Sept. 11 were tragic, but if it can bring a community

together even for a day and have everyone get along, then something good

came out of that day.

And I’m glad I was there to see it.

* JOSE PAUL CORONA covers City Hall and education. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7173 or by e-mail at o7 jose.corona@latimes.com.f7