Thanksgiving in NYC

Last Thanksgiving my mom came to NYC and we spent Thanksgiving together. I was sick. The night before the parade we went to the balloon inflation. When I woke up on Thanksgiving I felt too sick so we didn't go to the parade.

All the people in this picture give an idea of the scale of the balloons. They inflate the balloons the night before then hold the balloons down with weights and nets.

This is some big dog cartoon character that I don't know.

The Energizer Bunny. Doy!

This is Hello Kitty, at least her head. The big orange thing is the bow on her head.

This is what she looks like when she's upright and floating down the street.

I'm going to Maryland this year. I think I'd rather stay home. It would be nice to have some time off where I don't have to be anywhere or do anything. I'd love to just bum around the city and take some pictures and maybe hang out with some friends. But I told my mom that I'd be there. And my nephew is back from college. And the cat is down there and I haven't seen her since the summer. So, I'll go to Maryland.

UPDATE 1: I just had a conversation with a friend who said that she doesn't like things like this because they are basically big corporate sales pitches (my words, not hers) designed to imprint consumerism on kids brains and it takes years for the kids to change that mindset  about consumerism and what that all means (her words, not mine). I understand exactly what she's talking about. I've felt that myself. In fact the whole parade is just a big clusterf*%#k promotional gig for Macy's. 

That's my mom and dad. Doy!

The other thing about events like this is that there are sooooo many people there. The people are a lot to take, but to manage that I do what I normally do - I focus on taking pictures.  It objectifies the experience and then I don't feel the anxiety and claustrophobia of being in the crowd.

I went to the parade in 2006, when I first moved to the city. It rained so hard that day.

The parade is, for me, a tradition to welcome in the holiday season. I like Christmas but I don't go all corporate, perfect-Christmas, sparkling lights, bat-sh*t crazy. I like getting together with friends and family and decorating a tree and having traditions that I only do during the holidays. Those things are fun, and they aren't about buying presents and supporting the big, corporate dynasties that run our country. 

I won't be here, but if I were going to be, I'd probably go to the parade and take pictures. In fact I'd probably hang out at the back end and get the good shots of all the crap left over and all the people who have to clean up after all those revelers.

UPDATE 2: My friend Michael (below) just told me that he marched in the 1978 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Michael played the trumpet with the SUNY Maritime Marching Band. He went to SUNY before he went into the Marines. Loyalty and valor...those are two values that Michael lives by.