by Sally Cohen

For the better part of the last two months, Barbara Holman Lynn, a former English teacher, has organized late Sunday afternoon rallies with neighbors on the lower part of their street in Roxborough to offer a special thank you to our doctors, nurses, firefighters and police officers, although Barbara is in a wheelchair herself. “I just never expected to be faced with a physical disability once I retired,” she told us in an earlier interview.
“In 2015, a broken left femur/hip and failed surgery (along with neurological issues) put me permanently in a wheelchair.

On Sunday, May 24, it poured, but neighbors stood at the end of their driveways on the sidewalk wearing masks and carrying umbrellas. The song sheets got wet. Their musical “instruments” were spoons striking pots and pans. However, mothers, fathers and
children all made noise to recognize our front-line workers.

A number of participants were actually police officers and other men and women traveling to work each day during the pandemic. Others were retirees. All of us were singing and making noise to say thank you! Some neighbors complimented Jimmy Lynn on his fine
baritone voice as he led us in singing "God Bless America" and "God Bless the USA.”

Jane Wilson dusted off her sewing machine to make her Kansas University face mask and other face masks for friends during April and May. Jane played her five-foot-long Tibetan trumpet at one Sunday neighborhood rally. Giacomo DeAnnuntis played a saxophone solo, "Stella by Starlight" as Jimmy called out, "Way to go with a Stan Getz great!" On Mother's Day, Sheila DeAnnuntis led us in singing the Classic '60s' hit, "My Girl," but substituted "My Mom" in the lyrics. A cooler filled with miniature chocolate cupcakes was placed at the end of the driveway. Many indulged, trying to maintain the six-foot minimum distance of separation, one of the pandemic suggestions to protect everyone from COVID-19.

Barbara's brother, Lance Corporal Raymond Clark Holman, a proud U.S. Marine, was killed in action at 18 years of age during the Vietnam War. He received three purple hearts. Barbara wanted to do something special on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in honor of Raymond. That was the inspiration for the parade.

But would everyone wear masks? Would the recommended six to 10 feet of separation be upheld in a parade? Was it acceptable to recognize those who had died during the pandemic  as well as those who had given their lives for our country in foreign wars? Would neighbors stand on their front porches and wave flags and watch our parade? How many cars would stop for us and wait for the parade to pass? 

During the parade, neighbors dressed their preschoolers in red, white and blue. Joan Hurlock played the bongos, and Barbara rode in her wheelchair. Michele Schulke and her granddaughter, Danielle Santiago, came to join us from the top of the street waving flags. Participants ranged in age from 1 to 91. Jimmy Lynn drove a van blaring patriotic music and had an American flag draping out of the window. Neighbors came outside, rallied and, wow, did they make some noise!

“I am already planning trips to China,” said Barbara, “where my dad served in the Marine Corps during World War II, and DaNang, where my brother served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Yes, someone else will be driving me, and I will take money out of my 401K investments ...

“I have a friend who lives in Vietnam. He stayed there after high school, and I saw him at our 50th high school reunion in Connecticut. Meanwhile, I plan to maintain my upper body strength so that I can stand for photos. After all, I am blessed. My disability is only physical. I don’t have dementia!”