Behind the Headlines

No I don’t have a picture. I wasn’t standing where it would be possible to get a picture of all the activity in and near St. Mary’s Park at 7 p.m. Monday May 4.

But I was highly amused at the interesting collage taking place of events happening at the same time, within a block of each other, at that time and place. And all three of them were so very typical of Monroe!

There was a small car show taking place in the parking lot of St. Mary’s Park. The car show organizers didn’t report their event to The Monroe Evening News, so I don’t know who was involved. But it’s summer. This is typical activity in the area with there are two or three car shows a week somewhere in the county.

There were also a group of political pickets at the Custer statue at Monroe St. and Elm Ave. I didn’t get a chance to see what the cause of the day was. But, if you live in Monroe, you have learned that’s a favorite spot for protests and pickets to gather. It’s a pretty busy intersection, so a lot of passers-by will see what’s going on.

And St. Mary’s Church hosted its annual May crowning and ice cream social last night. I was among the parish members who walked in a procession from the Parish Life Center to the church, where we had a prayer service and placed flowers at the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The ice cream party took place afterward. Faith celebrations also are a big part of the local culture in Monroe, Mich. Specifically, I’ve seen pictures of the very colorful and elaborate May crownings held years ago in our city.

There were all happening at the same time, within a block of each other, for a very interesting collage of life in Monroe.

– Paula  Wethington