Scenes from the Parade

The Roslindale parade was held yesterday. The Globe even covered it!

My unorganized thoughts:

– Sam Yoon is working very hard for Michael Flaherty. He (and his supporters) were out marching and he was hustling up and down the side of the route, shaking hands and working the crowd. (One wag lamented: “Too bad he wasn’t like this when he was running”)

– The contrast between the Menino presence and the Flaherty-Yoon presence was palpable. Menino was the first marcher, with just two aides and his wife. It felt almost perfunctory. He didn’t come off the route, even during breaks, to shake hands. Flaherty-Yoon had a large contingnent of chanting, sign-waving supporters and both men aggressively worked the crowd.

– Ayanna Pressley came off as the real thing. She was personable and enthusiastic, working the crowd with real vigor.

– Roslindale is split up into several state representatives’ districts — none of them deigned to sponsor a float or participate.

– John Connolly lives nearby and generated some of the strongest crowd response of any politician.

– The two most perplexing aspects of the parade — Mr. Gormley of Gormley’s Funeral Home marching beside a hearse and someone (still?) rides in the parade and hands out bumper stickers on Dapper O’Neill’s behalf.