Thursday, or Thereabouts - November 28, 2013

I love a parade!

OMG! I'm late!
I always post by 10am and it's already past Noon!
Quelle horreur!

BUT...
Today is American Thanksgiving and that means only one thing - the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in
New York City. It's a tradition of sorts for me to tune in to this mega event and if you love parades as much as I do, then this is the one for you! It is nothing short of an extravaganza of  marching bands (sadly a tradition that never really caught on in Canada), eye-popping floats and those iconic flying balloons (also largely absent in Canadian parades). This parade is a stellar performance from start to finish.

Today with a temperature hovering around the zero C mark (32F) and winds high enough to get all those flags flapping but just low enough to permit the flying balloons to do what they do best - lift eyes and hearts up, way up, the parade lead off with the NYPD motorcycle troop. I looked for Tom Selleck but - oh wait, that's another TV show. The first float was a mammoth turkey, billed as the largest bird in the parade, and then Snoopy and Woodstock flew into view. Snoopy is the character with the longest history of appearances in the Macy's parade. Yay Snoopy! Some 8000 volunteers brought us the music, song and dance acts, and the myriad of floats that all lead up to the grand finale, the entrance of emerald and golden sleigh bearing the jolly old elf himself, along with Mrs. Claus. It's enough to make anyone shout, "I believe!"

And that, folks is my excuse for tardiness, but here's the point: if you can step away from the obligations and duties of your life, especially the self-imposed ones; if you can leave behind the 'shoulds' and 'oughts' for a few hours to be amused and amazed, to be a kid again eyes wide with anticipation and bodies bubbling with joy, DO IT!

A very Happy Thanksgiving to all my American family, friends and writers.

©2013 April Hoeller (except Macy's poster)