Almost Famous

When I was in Missouri the other weekend, Ben's mom gave me a copy of an article that had been written in the local newspaper about the high school band's trip to the Rose Parade. The town, and thereby the paper, is so tiny that it doesn't have a website, so I can't link you to the article. But here's a portion of it:


There was a lot of hometown support at the Rose Parade as well...There was even a Webb Citian spending the night on the curb of Colorado Boulevard. Mary Blair, the librarian at Eugene Field and Mark Twain schools, had a special perspective because her middle son, Ben Blair and his wife Robin live in Pasadena.

When she learned that Webb City's band was going back to the Rose Parade, she jokingly told Ben "we've got to go there." He took her seriously, refusing to come here for the holidays and insisted that they join him on the parade route. Mary and her husband, Bill, their oldest son Mike and his wife Tiffany and their two children all went to California on Christmas day. The group claimed their spot on the street at noon on Dec. 31. Mary babysat the kids while the others celebrated New Year's Eve on the street. She joined them when it was still dark at 6 a.m.

"When Webb City came by some reached out to high-five me," Mary said. "I couldn't believe how lucky were were to have such a beautiful day."


I'll be signing autographs on Tuesday from 2-4.