I remember as a lad, getting up on Thanksgiving morning and watching the parade in New York City. The big floats, and those giant balloons, and oddball things like baton-twirling troupes and the like – it was quite a spectacle. Over the years, though, the parade lost its luster for me. I changed, certainly, and it seemed the parade changed, and haven’t bothered to watch that parade on TV in decades.
I have discovered that I do still like parades, but only when I’m there in person. I attended two of the Giants’ victory parades and they were wonderful – or as wonderful as being in the middle of a million people can be. What makes it work is the incredible phenomenon of that people joined in a single, focused celebration. We all benefited the event, as it benefited us.
I did not attend the Pride Parade in San Francisco recently, but several of my friends did and it was a similar thing. A collective celebration of the societal concepts of tolerance and diversity, resonating with the crowd – I heard they had a million people there, too. One of my friends was there for the whole thing – 6 hours’ worth! Wow! I am thrilled that the CBA had a float in that parade.
My town, Martinez, has two annual parades – the Christmas Parade and the 4th of July Parade. I have witnessed both many times, and been in both parades as well – these are totally different experiences. If you’re a spectator, the parade moves past you and you can see the variety of the participants. In either, these are local businesses, local community groups – some official, and some less so. When you’re IN the parade, the changing view is the faces of the people on the street as you roll (or stroll) down the parade route.
As the town Santa, it’s an even more intense experience – hundreds of people come to the parade to see Santa, and it’s a weird experience, sitting on the back of a convertible, trying to wave to every kid personally.
In yesterday’s 4th of July Parade, I worked as a volunteer – helping to keep the parade moving along. I had to lecture Uncle Sam himself – “Sam, you gotta keep moving, the parade’s backing up behind you!” We had a contingent of mini-horses, followed by a contingent of Cooper Minis. We had a rolling beaver. We had burly Scotsmen with whips. We had PG&E and we had Shell Oil. We had Kiwanis, Soroptimists, Clampers and Rotarians, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, dancers and karate kids. Small town America at its best!
