Thanksgiing

I hurt. My knees are a mass of bruises, my right elbow aches, I have at least three bruises on various parts of my head, all my finger joints ache and have various scrapes, I have windburn on my cheeks and chapped lips. Why do I do this every year?

I realized this parade (My 9th!) that I've never really written about parade, I just tel stories to my friends about what new crazy stuff happened this year. I'm guessing this will be part one of a two part post because I doubt at the moment I will have the wherewithal to follow this through immediately. I'm tired and the Friday after Thanksgiving is my one dedicated day off. I don't work the Friday after Thanksgiving.

This post will be overly-dramatic. Parade is a series of exaggerations in life and story-telling, so any post about it really couldn't not be overly dramatic. That is part of the mystique of parade. Part of what does keep me coming back to work it. Its something I grew up with, huddled about the television with my sister every thanksgiving I can remember growing up. It was my first 'famous' experience in New York City. In a single night, Parade went from being this thing that you saw people doing on television - to a real life event put together by friends of mine, and me. That carries with it a certain weight. This is one thing I know people around the country tune in to, and many can identify with certain parts of it - who doesn't love Snoopy?

On top of all that, Thanksgiving holds a special place for me in that after Parade I'm welcomed into some dear friends' home. Every year this gets harder for me. This people have known me for close to a decade, and in that time they've seen me through a lot. To repeatedly spend a holiday with them brings us closer all. I may not see them for over a year afterwards, but we all seem to know that in a very real way spending this time together makes us a quirky sort of family - with all the burdens and jys that bears.

This is the kind of drivel you get out of me when you send me through the wringer and then put me to sleep for over 12 hours.

I haven't even gotten to what I do for the parade yet. And I have to go for the time. Look for installment two of this post - complete with Giant Rhinocersoses, Spaceships, Turkey flinging, and more. To be continued...