https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/qmmunity/2007-06-04/480706/

Parading Around Like a Buncha Queers

By Kate X Messer, June 4, 2007, 11:46am, Qmmunity

Here's this year's Pride Parade. (Click on the Gallery link for a slew of pics.)

One of our favorite things to do during Pride is to go to the parade staging area an hour or so before the start and bask in the community that convinces itself the rest of the year that it's not really a community. Oh, really? Could've fooled us.

It's easy to get all goose-fleshy at that buildup right before the launch, that moment when all the PAs of the various floats begin to crank out their individual ooooonce-ooonce. All that dance music floating about to create one big smashing mash-up.

This year, there was a moment of drama, when the truck pulling the joint-venture float between Out Youth and PFLAG did not start. Entire rows of floats and participants had to pass them by as they frantically tried to crank the SUV. Then, just at the last minute, as the last floats were making their way into queue, the truck vrrrrooooomed, and the float took its place in line.

I found the whole thing to be very emotional.

But then again, I cry at parades.