My friend and friend of many of you, Dr. William E. "Bill" Flynt,
asked to use my calliope in his neighborhood parade on Monday, July
5th.  He wanted it on the back of my truck and he would play it.

I loaded the calliope Sunday afternoon and noticed that, a few blocks
away from my home, the Dallas Athlete Club was having their Independ-
ence Day fireworks Sunday night.  There are usually several thousand
people gathered in the North Mesquite area to watch the Club's fire
works each year.  People gather on their lawns, a church lawn, a
parking lot, the grounds of the school and a vacant field near the
freeway.  I usually watch from my front yard.

My ego got the best of me about an hour before the fireworks started
-- I had the calliope already loaded in the truck and needed to pre-
flight test it.  I drove around the 10-block area playing the "Stars &
Stripes Forever", "Under the Double Eagle", etc.  These people had been
waiting for an hour or so in the heat with nothing to do, and I got
standing ovations all up and down the streets.  It was good to see so
many people enjoy an old automatic music machine.

On Monday we led the parade, just behind the fire truck, through Bill
Flynt's North Dallas neighborhood with Bill playing the calliope.  See
the attached picture.  During the picnic we played through a music roll
and them Bill and a lady in the neighborhood played a duet on the
calliope for the crowd.

If anyone tells you that people don't care for these old things anymore,
just play a calliope to a large crowd.

Don Bryant    Bryant's Antique Players    since 1975
4819 Stallcup Dr.,  Mesquite, Texas 75150
http://www.bryantantiques.net

 [ That's a nice photo, Don; I like Bill's big grim as he plays.  I'll
 [ place the image at http://mmd.foxtail.com/Calliope/  -- Robbie