American Graffiti

When I think about living in Modesto, I think about living in one of the most miserable cities in the country. But really, there are good things about living in Modesto. One of those good times is each year when graffiti week comes around. You may or may not know that George Lucas is from Modesto and his movie American Graffiti is based on his teenage years in Modesto. Once a year, our city turns into what I would consider traditional American. Every night there is a car show somewhere in the city. And on the weekend is a parade of cars downtown. That is what we went to on Friday night. It was fun and filled me with pride for my city that doesn't have much to be proud of.

About 1000 old cars were in the parade. They threw candy out their windows to the crowds lining the streets. One old car had a coke trailer behind it and was handing out bottles of coke. Engines were revved, tires were spun until smoke filled the air, little kids waved from the back of cars like they were prom kings and queens. It was great fun!

Isla certainly seemed to enjoy herself. She was full of smiles and enjoying her time. Now Connor on the other hand, he seemed to be in sensory overload. After watching the parade for a few minutes, he wanted to be in the stroller with the sun shade closed in front of him. If we tried opening the shade to show him a passing car, he tried closing it again. I don't know what his deal was, but I decided to just leave him be. Hopefully next year he will be a little bit more into the action.

Speaking of next year, in all my years in Modesto, I had never been to the graffiti parade. I'm glad I went and would definitely like to make it a tradition. And one day, if I am lucky, maybe I could be one of the prom queens riding in a car.