Comfortably ensconced in a folding chair while keeping watch over the gathering area for horses involved in the Potomac Day Parade last Saturday, Ted Cain basked under a warm sun, on a gorgeous fall morning.
Cain, 94, no stranger to parade day preparation, for years has been posted in many locations, wherever his wife, Elie, parade organizer, would need help. “I thought it would be a good idea to give him a place to sit this year,” she said.
Not only was he able to sit, his location was across River Road from where dozens of marchers, vehicles, dogs, representatives of a petting zoo, vehicles of all vintages and a marvelous gathering of all ages congregated.
“It was great,” Ted admitted. “One kind soul dropped by and brought me water and a banana,” he added.
It was the banana he relished, having had breakfast quite early. The horses were on their return trip to their trailers following their forward parade positions. Most of the other participants had not even started.
“I peeled my banana and had really enjoyed the first few bites,” he recalled. Suddenly, he had company … the four-legged kind.
Up in his face, as close as he could possibly get without causing a virtual upset, was “Maurice.” Apparently, “Maurice” loves bananas. “He was a beautiful, big, black horse. He was determined to eat my banana, at least share it,” Ted laughingly reported. The more Ted resisted, the more determined the horse got. Eric Smart, astride his horse, and other members of the Potomac Bridle and Hiking Trails looked on. “They were all laughing uproariously as I was,” said Ted, no stranger to horses.
It may have seemed like minutes, but probably it was only seconds before the horse’s patience gave out. “He started slobbering,” Ted reported. He was still seated and holding the banana as far away as possible.
The tantalizing aroma of banana was too much for “Maurice.” He took one deep breath, opened his mouth wide and let go. “I was covered from head to toe,” Ted later explained, still laughing over the incident after mopping up. It was not reported who got the last bite, but “Maurice” definitely got the last laugh.
It is not an unusual delicacy for a horse. “I take bananas to the barn, give the horses a bite, and I take a bite. Their bites are always bigger,” Lyne Morgan laughingly advised.
There were, no doubt numerous incidents during the 32nd annual Potomac Parade Day and one quiet moment.
The horses, among the first starters had come to a standstill in front of the reviewing locale, when the magnificent rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” sung by Chrissellene Petropoulos, reached from the Village crossroad down River Road to the parade assembly. Her beautiful, clear soprano voice put a hold on all participants, spectators and animals. Not even “Maurice” uttered a whinny.
Petropoulos has performed this traditional rite since the parade started on Counselman Road in front of St. Francis Church and stopped at Falls Road, at most a five minute walk. “I remember Mr. Kiplinger (Austin) holding an umbrella over my head while I sang. It must have been 1984. I was recently back from my European tour,” she said.
Former Maryland State Sen. Jean Roesser also remembered that rainy Saturday. “It was pouring. I was standing on River Road in front of The Surrey,” she recalled. “I think there were only two other spectators,” she reminisced.
The parade passes by as do the memories.