Don't rain on our parade  It's a rare and sacred treat when a
small community rallies around a single cause or event and
people disregard personal beefs to just have a good time. If
Saranac Lake were to come together in support of a person
needing immediate medical attention, and funds were raised and
the person pulled through, you wouldn't appreciate it if someone
said, "Well, that was a good cause, but it didn't compare to
when so-and-so was sick and we helped them."  I know, comparing
a festival like Winter Carnival to supporting an individual in
need is a bit like comparing apples to oranges - or, say,
comparing Rod Blagojevich to someone with a soul. The point here
is that in this time of tremendous personal and national stress,
when people need any excuse to take a breather and crack a
smile, why rain on our parade (no pun intended) just because you
have some desire to cling to your glory days?  Okay for now,
I've got to wrap this column up while I still have room to
mention my arch nemesis, Matt Hobbs.