City Views, Country Dreams

Good afternoon from New York on Thanksgiving Day.

Our Thanksgiving Day occurs on the fourth Thursday, after the first Monday of November, and therefore is not on a fixed date like Christmas. Sometimes this holiday occurs under rainy or snowy skies, and sometimes the chill of the air makes it a grand time to do a lot of cooking that involves having an oven's heat.

Besides being our traditional day to count our blessings, this day also provides the gateway to the Christmas season. A New York City tradition is the parade that has been sponsored by our big Macy's department store for many decades. Lots of Macy's employees participate in the parade, as do champion marching bands from all over America, and some semi-famous stars of stage and screen.

The big draw for the children attending the parade are the giant balloons in the shapes of many cartoon or storybook characters. The parade assembles on the western side of Central Park, and draws huge crowds as it makes its way downtown, ending up in front of Macy's. Often the only part of the parade that little children can actually see are the helium-filled balloons, that are steered along the route by teams of Macy folks holding on to cables, and hoping that the balloons do not escape their grip.

Keeping up the balloon theme, vendors are very much on the scene selling their own versions of balloons as souvenirs of the parade. It is hard for parents to avoid buying one of these for their child. Think of the parents who have a few children to please. The following photo also shows the entrance to the famous Dakota apartment house.



Let me show you all some of the big balloons. I will leave it to you to guess which character is which.

This one might be easier to name.

I love the colors in this picture and wonder which choice these little girls made. You might also get a glimpse of a gentleman selling cotton candy in the background. I think that he is counting his funds.

Here comes another fellow, just crossing 72 Street. Please note the blue sky.

I absolutely could not resist taking a photo of this large pup. He seemed to be very well trained.

In some years past, accidents involving balloons going out of control have occurred. The wind sock on the top of the street light pole is there to warn the parade marshals when the breezes might pose a risk. No problems like that today.

I could not resist taking a photo of this cutie. There were lots of colorful hats keeping little and big ears warm.

Since this is, after all, New York, there is much more police presence at the parade than there used to be. This copter was just a little too low to suit me, and I was glad when it hovered away.

Even when the weather is a good as it was this morning, standing in one place for a few hours can be tiring and you can suddenly feel a chill in your toes. I noticed that the vendors also noticed when folks began to drift away from the parade. (Keep in mind that the viewers were about 75 folks deep. Very few have an unobstructed view of the parade, unless on daddy's shoulders, or if daddy has thoughtfully brought along a ladder.)

And so, this photo shows the crowd beginning to thin, and the vendors perhaps beginning to run a sale on their souvenirs.

Some folks actually gathered up their families and made their retreat to bus, subway, car, or perhaps just foot, before the star of the show made his arrival. You might just be able to make out the bearded fellow in the red suit.

I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!