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Parades are for 'old kids,' too

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When 36 plastic pink flamingos showed off on their lawn Thursday morning, Lee Arnold figured it was another fundraising scheme that he was a part of. Indeed, Lee and his wife, Becky, had been “flocked,” and with a donation the birds would leave and land in the yard of someone they had designated.

But Lee was in for a far bigger surprise Friday, and this one was in celebration of his 75th birthday. Becky had a hand in it, as did Danielle Smith, who lives across Massasoit Drive and whose husband is a Warwick firefighter. Becky and Danielle got out the word to the neighborhood as well as Lee’s friends and acquaintances from his many years at the Department of Labor and Training, which he directed before retiring.

On Friday afternoon, motorists on Post Road must have wondered whether the governor had lifted pandemic restrictions and reopened restaurants. The parking lot at Lemongrass was packed. Danielle directed people to line up, and ahead of them beside the road waited a police cruiser and three fire apparatus.

The parade was a couple of blocks, yet it made an impression with lights flashing, horns blaring and sirens wailing. Lee, who was eating a late lunch, was ushered outside. “I was overwhelmed and honored,” he said, recalling how he has been in parades but never the subject of a parade.

Becky thought a parade fitting to celebrate Lee’s 75th and the 50th anniversary of his return from the Vietnam War that comes up on Memorial Day.

“He loves this country still and is proud to have served as a captain in the Army,” she said.

She reasoned if kids have drive-by car parades, “why not an old kid?”

On his return from the war, Lee continued his pursuit of a master’s degree in public administration at URI. He chose to do an internship at Warwick City Hall in place of a dissertation, thinking that might help put him on the road to a job. He ended up working in the finance department for then Mayor Philip Noel, who at the time was gearing up to run for governor. Noel offered Lee a job in his administration after winning the election and Lee was on his way to a career in state government.

The stay-at-home order has given Lee lots of time to read and he’s looking forward to getting into the book Becky gave him on late Sen. John McCain, who he remembers meeting and who he admired for being down to earth and unassuming. Most of all during these circumstances, he’s missed getting hugs from his five grandchildren and getting together with their families. Skype, FaceTime and Zoom are great, he said, but can hardly substitute for the real thing.

On Friday, at least, he got to see three of his grandchildren, Ethan, Shane and Brooke, as they drove by waving and shouting. He hadn’t seen them in person since the first week in March.

By Saturday morning, the flamingos had flown the coop, but the memories were fresh. Lee reveled in naming all the people who surprised him on his 75th.

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