May sound like a support group in need of surgery to remove an unsightly body appendage, but be assured is only a euphemism for the “chamber of commerce”.  Never mind, the Pro hardware store sells a product labeled Poultry Netting which I would swear is chicken wire.  Semantics aside, after four fun-filled Alumapalooza days, many revelers ventured downtown Friday night to the JC Community Days.

My objective; humming along with the lyrics as rendered by Petula Clark.

Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city

After dinner at the Cafe Verandah, we stroll over to the town center, a midway enclosed in an orange plastic version of poultry netting.  Rides to attract youngsters, band stand, beer tent, ice cream, elephant ears, and yes, teenagers.  Almost all the girls wear tight stretch jeans.  There is a mating ritual in progress and we, the gracefully aged are here, privileged to witness it.  The jeans constitute their courtship plumage.  The local boys pretend not to notice, but how can they not ?  It is a blatant effort to attract their attention. Trying to be cool, the boys play an elaborate game of not paying any mind.  There is obvious signaling, pretending not to notice.  The girls text furiously on hand held raspberries, to their friends less than a few feet away, anything to avoid face-to-face contact.  It’s beautiful, the tension unbearable.

Linger on the sidewalks where the neon lights are pretty

Darwinian.  Only yesterday morning, the legendary Bert Gildart presented a wildlife photography program, a portion of which demonstrated the courtship of rare pelicans in the wild.  Same thing, only without I-Pads.  And acne.

How can you lose ?  The lights are much brighter there, you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares

The JC entertainment is only slightly better than an impromptu concert by our own event staff only 3 nights earlier.

Picture three grown men, on stage, singing a gawdawful paraphrased version (now available on You Tube) of The National Anthem, to the delight of a small crowd.  Although alcohol was not a factor, sleep deprivation, high humidity, and physical exhaustion from 20 hour days might have lead them to believe they have talent and the need to allow the true beauty of their souls to shine through.  If this happens to you, you are not attractive, you are leaking.

Sadly, these same ‘entertainers’ rejected a request to include a scheduled dog show and parade, an activity considered by them as a lowering of the bar.  “We’ve gone as low as we can go”

And go downtown 

The pressure on an event organizer is intense, especially from the fourth estate, seen here under direct assault by papparazzi and a reporter.  Note how he cleverly disguises his disdain for the press, cloaked in a wry, salacious grin.

Synopsis: the rally has been and is, without equivocation, a smashing success.  No this is not Woodstock, although many of us have a memory of Bethel, NY in 1969.  Here the tone is one of effervescence, lightness, and yet still intimate…..friendliness with no pretention in a warm and moist environment.