Oh Lordy! It's MACY'S PARADE!

I'm kind of quite settled now here in the city - in a way as restlessly content as I was in London, only with added curiosity to explore where I live. It's a curious thing: I can see myself belonging here, I have   a lot of zeal to go and explore the rest of the states, slowly, but ultimately still see myself returning to UK - but to do what? Very strange. Love seems the only thing that could occupy that hole. And that leaves me now, feeling like I'm just having fun until I leave - that is not a nice feeling. But in way that is life no? Ha.

In any case I am certainly ticking the boxes. I ticked a box this last week which I didn't no existed: Macy's amazing Thanksgiving Parade.

Mona suggested we go and watch the parade's balloons be blown up on wednesday night, a classic romantic thing to do apparently, and on the upper west side, which is an area I don't get to that often though I do like it for it's classy avenues and blocks, the ayurveda centre, cosmopolitan-ness and Cleopatra's needle for free jazz. And I thought "hmm I don't think I need to watch balloons being blown up" and I opted for the early night.

Thursday was thanksgiving day itself and so a welcome day off work. And happily I could answer the frequent question "what are you doing for thanksgiving?" with "having dinner with a friend's family downtown". And this was to be in the early evening. Joanne's e-vite "Dinner with the Millers" had said "we will serve dinner at 6.30". I took this to be a note on promptness rather than formality (although the two are related I guess). So I wasn't late, but, what to do in the morning? Well it was a gorgeous sunny blue-skied cooold morning and what with things being closed and the city feeling a bit quiet, I took out on my bike at 8am thinking I might check the parade, which begun at 9am. And I must admit I wasn't really sure what to expect though I know I do like a marching band and I do like cheer-leaders and tight tight marching choreography very much. So after queuing for my splendid coffee beforehand I made my way to 772nd street, upper west to see...

Lots of fathers around with toddlers on their shoulders, one of whom I heard asking a street-bum how he liked his eggs. A fine kicking piles of fall leaves feeling around. Then I heard the voice on loudspeaker of a commentator which usually makes me shudder - oppressive, conformist and too loud and electric. This lead me around the corner to...a giant Sonic the hedgehog balloon bobbing facedown in the street with about 60 blue-suited humans beneath and around him pulling on strings which attached to him like in Gulliver's travels when he wakes up on the beach. BIG balloon - the size of a juggernaut (see pics below of course). What a thing! And funny to watch all the whistles being blown and co-ordination below to get the bobbing mono-expressioned game character edging towards Central Park West Avenue where the parade was processing.

Then I started to see the magnitude of the parade, which is in its 82nd year apparently and sponsored all this time by the family department store Macy's. So there are dozens and dozens of such huge balloons in gradual convoy bobbing above Central Park's trees, and the crowds (who assemble from 6am to get good spots), dancers, other floats and yes, majorettes trotting along like horses lifting those feet up waving first left then right in unison. Works for me!

Then the commentator, pointing out celebs like Woopie Goldberg on a pirate ship float and balloon characters just joining the parade from a tributary street like Sponge Bob Square-pants. Here is some commentary which I mind-snapped:

"and what's this! It's Sid the Centipede - the wildest insect in town! Over 70 feet in length and with no less than 30 controllers. He's capable of making some fun manouvres as he makes his way down the parade."

Once I remembered that I didn't like huge static crowds and that my bike was a major hindrance, I elected to try to race the parade on my bike down a parallel quiet avenue. This was actually more surreal. I would stop in the cool air and watch the space between 2 scrapers in the distance.

And lo! A giant crawling Spiderman would start to emerge between the buildings at about 6th story, above the park trees in the background. Very funny sight. And so it went on as I cycled and watched all the shapes, going in close towards the end so that I could see more bands and drummers.

And I made it back for 11pm for a parental skype. Somehow crazy, very American and traditional, not my thing at all in a way but definitely magical.

I wondered how far into a depression the US would need to be before a parade like that was considered an extravagance. Maybe they would do it anyway - who knows. Just such a strange juxtaposition when there are still 1000s of unliveable homes by the ocean after the hurricane. I'm not moralizing at all - just reflecting on the colo(u)rs life has.
I also now get how watching the balloons being inflated with good company, a slice of pumpkin pie and a flask of chai might make a fantastic evening.