Limping

I must have been 7 or 8 when my mum took me to a parade, in celebration of some war survived and freedom found. At that time I had only eyes for the million colors and people passing by and had only ears for the marching bands and the applause they got. I had no eye for history or ear for the story of long long ago. There were people in costumes trying to depict a time of hardship and woe and horses in robes and riders that managed to keep their cool. Music from marching bands and brass. Girls dancing and twirling batons. And people on stilts. I felt I would never have enough eyes and ears to embrace it all when suddenly; one steady beat of a single drum grabbed my attention. I tried to see where it came from but it was still too far away. As the sound of the drum came closer and closer it seemed to drown out all the other sounds and it grabbed my heart. When the drum came into my field of vision it filled my world. Behind the drum, a small group of man, all dressed in soldiers uniforms from a time way before my grandfathers grandfathers grandfather was born, one man, beating the drum, walked in a steady pace, the white long drum seemed to cling to his leg and with every step it jumped up as the baton came down. My heart and the drum seemed to be beating in the same pace. I let my eyes wander through the small group taking in as much details as I could, they landed on the last man in the last line and on his left leg. I was fascinated, it was beautiful. Look, mum look, I shook her by the arm, Mum look how skillful that man can limp. My mum poked me; “shush don’t say that, he’s got a real limp”, she whispered. Her harsh shush shook me, but I swear at the same time I could see a big smile on the limping man’s face. I watched his back as the group walked away and I still think it looked a little straighter and distinctly proud.

There is not a parade that goes by that I don’t think about the limping man and my head wants to tell him I never meant no disrespect, while in my heart of hearts I know I paid him homage and I still do. After all these years my memory of that parade is still limping.