Birdie: By the Union Pines Marching Band, which has developed such a reputation for excellence that it has won a coveted invitation to join just a handful of bands taking part in next summer's Independence Day parade in Washington, D.C. Here's a joyful toot of the tuba to the talented Viking marchers and their hard-working leader, Rob Hill, for doing us all so proud. But they'll need more than our praise; they've got to raise some bucks for the trip. Please be generous when they come around.

Bogey: By the well-intentioned but party-pooping delegation of picketers who crashed the Southern Pines Business Association's "Holiday Open House and Tree Lighting" Sunday to protest the absence of the word "Christmas" from the event's name. The members of the group, mostly affiliated with Calvary Memorial Church, comported themselves quietly and were acting entirely within their right of free expression. But they cast a bit of a pall over the otherwise festive proceedings, creating an awkward situation for the organizers - who, in the spirit of this pluralistic society of ours, were just trying to display tolerance and inclusiveness. Come to think of it, aren't those supposed to be Christian virtues?