FLORENCE, Ky. — Toddler Nolan DeCarlo plays baseball as much as he can, his father Brian said Thursday afternoon: “Every day, whether it’s inside or outside.”
He was crestfallen when he learned the Reds Opening Day parade would be canceled, so his parents decided to find a quarantine-safe way to bring the parade to him for his fourth birthday. To make it happen, they needed help from their neighbors.
“We had no idea” how enthusiastic the response would be, Brian DeCarlo said. “We didn’t know how many people would do it.”
Lots, it turned out.
On Thursday, while the DeCarlo family sat on their fold-out chairs dressed in Reds gear, neighbors drove by in their own cars and threw candy to Nolan and his siblings.
Some passengers stood up and waved Happy birthday signs out of their sunroofs. A Boone County sheriff’s deputy flashed the lights and sirens on his car.
Nolan was delighted, his father said.
“I’m not sure we’ll be able to top that” for future birthdays, Brian DeCarlo said. “We may top out at four.”
