Sometimes in our excitement to do something good, we stumble over our feet trying to get to the finish line.  No harm or foul intended, just going a little too fast.

            We have received over 50 emails and phone calls regarding the upcoming Upper Perkiomen Christmas parade.  Some cancelling their subscriptions or cancelling their advertising.  Their reasoning was that the parade will affect their businesses and that the Town and Country is in charge of the parade.

            No, we are not in charge of organizing the parade or changing the day from Saturday to Sunday.  We read what you read in last week's Letters to the Editor edition.

            We know that municipal (and sometimes state) approval is needed for events that close roads.  And, we also think the closing of Main Street on a Saturday for a couple of hours can be disruptive to small businesses that have scheduled special events or are just trying to serve their customers on a shopping day. It can be frustrating.  That can be especially true for those businesses where customer parking is only available on Main Street. Being able to plan their business schedule would have been helpful 

            I am sure that many would have been accommodating for the parade.

           They should have, at least, been given a "heads up" a month or two ago so they would have a chance to alter their plans.

            Included in that pre-event notice should be volunteer and fundraising organizations that have events planned for that day.  Several of the complainers were frustrated that if they knew about the day change, they would have cancelled their day of volunteering in order to continue their family tradition of seeing the parade as a family.

            We were hoping to have a press release by those in charge of the details of the parade and the decision-making and notification process so we could share it with our readers.

            Too often those who could be affected the most are left in the dust of those going a little too fast.

            Remember, when you're making plans for something good, remember those that could be negatively affected.

            Do your best to inform everyone as early as possible.

            Whenever possible, ask for permission because it is not always better to ask for forgiveness.