All hail the flag bearers, marching at the head of the parade.

 

Victor Ashe, on right, the mayor of Knoxville, gets some much-needed exercise on the parade route. The guy with him is reported to his lover... or something like that.

This guy was amazing. Moments after this photo was taken, he jumped seven wheelchair-ridden veterans lined up in a row. He almost cleared all of them, too, only nicking the last one, knocking his Pearl Harbor Survivor hat off.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the parade except for this guy, who absolutely REFUSED to watch it. I asked him what his deal was, but he wouldn't speak to me.

West High School, where my son "attends," was one of many marching bands perfoming. There was a momentary delay in the parade in order to correct the positions of the letter bearers who mistakenly started out spelling the word "WETS."

This tank commander offended many parade-goers by screaming at the top of his lungs, constantly referring to his "big gun." One woman wearing a flag shirt fainted from this and fell to the ground, and, according to custom, had to be burned.

The tank commander fired off a few rounds, one of them accidently being a live one, which resulted in the total destruction of the Model A Ford bearing the Grand Marshall of the parade.

The parade ended with onlookers being awestruck and brought to America-loving tears by this visual treat courtesy of yours truly.