A picture of America

Laguna Beach is known for many things -- art, eccentricity, plein air

painters, glorious sun-washed beaches and a sense of cosmopolitan joi

de vivre.

One thing it is not generally known for is patriotism.

But maybe it should be.

The town struts its stuff in that regard every year in March, when

the soft, wispy pastels of Impressionism are replaced by the vibrancy

of the good ol’ red, white and blue.

On this special day, the soft strains of surf give way to the

ear-splitting sounds of brass bands.

It’s when the town shakes off the dreamy reverie in which it

spends most of its days and decides to bust out in a riot of bright

colors and sounds.

Everybody gets involved in his or her own way, from the Water

Department to the Laguna High School-Thurston Middle School marching

band (who show their Laguna flair by donning Hawaiian shirts instead

of parade uniforms).

There’s room for everyone in the promenade: artists in off-beat

costumes; children in Scout uniforms; men in old military garb; women

in snappy hats; not to mention dogs and cats. (Pardon the rhyme.)

There’s the Marine Band and the Gay Men’s Chorus; preschoolers and

taxpayers; the Sawdust Art Festival and the U.S. Post Office.

And, saving the best for last: the Chocolate Lovers of America,

who leave sweets behind in their wake.

The parade was the brainchild of local patriot Emily Ross (related

to Betsy?), with the help of the local chapter of the Daughters of

the American Revolution -- a group that is generally considered

staunchly Conservative, with a capital “C” -- and the Exchange Club,

a group that promotes Americanism.

This, again, is not something that springs to mind when one thinks

of the “People’s Republic of Laguna Beach.”

After all, the town’s most famous inhabitant was a slightly

bedraggled, white-bearded man who stood on a prominent corner

grinning and waving at passersby -- and in any other city would have

been called a “street person.”

The Patriots Day Parade surely proves that Laguna’s palette is big

enough to paint the American picture in all the colors of the rainbow

-- which is what this country is all about.