4/4 time

Yesterday was the Aggie parade; today, the Chuy's parade. The Aggie parade brings friendly people out. Those who line the Avenue specifically for the parade are usually friends and relatives of current Aggies or else are A&M graduates themselves. There are also those who watch just because they're downtown: coffee-drinkers of various persuasions and food-prep people at the hotels and restaurants along the street.

The Chuy's parade draws many more spectators as a rule. Some are there to enjoy the Hardin-Simmons Cowboy Band and anything else is a bonus. Those who arrive with children in tow are varied: some arrive and depart by bus; others come in from the far suburbs in gargantuan vehicles. These latter people tend to be unfamiliar with the core of Austin, driving around and around and around, trying to find a parking space that will accommodate behemoths of the road. Sometimes they're just arriving as the parade ends.

How much longer it will be called the Chuy's parade may be in doubt. In the early years of the parade, Chuy's seemed to pay all expenses. Now each year brings many more corporate sponsors. For example, some bank is billed in call-outs as "bringing to Austin" the Hardin-Simmons band.

It seems unusual for the Aggies and Chuy's to be on successive days as they are this year, but who's complaining?