Thursday, June 30th, 2011 11:59:19

I Love a Parade

My earliest Fourth of July memories include fireworks, flags, BBQ and parades. Not watching parades, being in them. As the daughter of a Georgia politician (my father, Newt Gingrich, began running for Congress when I was 7 and won his first race when I was 11), I found the Fourth of July to be more of a marathon than a day of rest.
The day would begin in Atlanta with the WSB parade. This would be followed by two or three more parades. Before Georgia House Speaker Tom Murphy had the 6th District divided into little pieces in an attempt to get rid of my dad, we would always participate in the Newnan, Ga., parade.

The route would begin in the commercial district, wind its way through town, travel the length of the railroad tracks, where Dad would shake hands on both side of the parade route and my sister and I would carry signs and wave, and then there would be a mad sprint through a more sparsely populated residential area before finishing in the park where the Rotary would serve barbecue.