Four months into retirement and holding fast to a promise made to self that I won’t be a sofa slug.
I was sitting on my sofa last week when I was reminded that there was going to be a Christmas parade on Saturday night and it was only five minutes (or less) from my house.
This was to take place at a time when college football championships were underway on television. It was cold outside. There would be a fire in my fireplace and food and beverage within reach. A parade?
This was to be the second time that this event would take place in our small community. I had heard from friends that the parade held the previous year was a rousing success and that this one promised to be bigger and better. I missed last year’s parade. I knew about it, but passed. I can’t remember why. I was probably watching football. Did I want to make it 0 for 2?
The previous week, Helen and I had been in Charleston, SC enjoying Thanksgiving activities with our son, his wife, and our precious granddaughters. This was a lot of fun, but the Thanksgiving meal was also the culmination of a week in which we had helped them move into a new home. The move had generated a lot of anticipation and excitement among all of us and especially the girls who were getting a big new yard to play in. Nevertheless, back in the man cave, I was looking forward to some down time in the recliner watching football.
Around 3:00 on Saturday afternoon Helen says “What time are we leaving?” My initial response was an intense stare at the television, but I knew that I couldn’t hold that position for long. “No later than 5:30” I replied. I was committed. Another activity on the schedule of a retiree who promised to remain active.
We had been told that parking would be somewhat of a challenge, so we got in our car and drove to the local elementary school and walked about a quarter of a mile to the parade site. It was a cool and crisp evening and it felt good to walk–I had also promised to exercise. There were several families who walked with us while leading their dogs on a leash. The dogs were determined to prove who among them was the alpha male and created quite a stir. The big poodle won.
The parade was centered around the parking lot of a small to medium size shopping center with several adjacent shops and taverns going away from it to the west. When we arrived the parking lot was a beehive of activity. People were everywhere and I have to admit, I was somewhat astonished at the size of the crowd. The local tavern had cordoned off a portion of its parking lot and had set up a temporary bar there. There were relatively few patrons and I found this a bit of a surprise as well.
From where we were located, the parade was to originate at the community ball fields about a mile away and follow a two lane road for about a half mile then turn left onto the main highway, also a two lane road, but a busy one. At exactly 6:00pm police blocked the highway and sirens rang out loudly from the local fire truck. Those sirens were matched in intensity by the squeals from young children lining both sides of the road and wiggling with excitement. From that moment on, this was a spectator’s delight. Everybody loves a parade!
The fire truck moved along at about two miles per hour with lights flashing. Then came a trio functioning as the obligatory Banner Bearers telling us what we were watching. They looked like they had done this before…big smiles all about.
The Parade Grand Marshall came through next sitting on the back of a big, black, Cadillac convertible. Serving in this position of prominence was a very popular anchor for one of the local television stations–an excellent choice I thought. He waved enthusiastically to the crowd and paused the Cadillac right in front of me to chat with one of his fellow TV anchors standing just to my left. Wow! Imagine me, surrounded by celebrity. Big fun!
Next came another celebrity that is familiar to many–a Kharmin Ghia convertible. I don’t think the car knows it’s famous, but it happens to be owned by the county mayor and gets a lot of publicity from appearances on TV and in the newspaper. The Kharmin Ghia blinked its lights at us as it passed by. The mayors daughter sipped from a cup of hot chocolate while waving.
After the celebrity review we were treated to Floats–the things that make a parade a parade. We were not disappointed as one by one they moved in front of us. It was obvious that much time and expense had gone into many of them which I honestly wasn’t expecting. The floats represented local retail businesses, construction firms, automobile dealerships, and restaurants. The local tavern, mentioned above, had a float that was well done. The Tavern float was followed by two very nice floats from local churches. All three got along very well.
The local elementary school was nicely represented by a principal and two teachers looking resplendent in their well-done elf suits. They were having a grand time. Maybe Santa sent them to watch the kids.
In between the floats, trucks were pulling trailers filled with all kinds of cuteness. There was one trailer filled with the local cub scout pack that was quickly followed by a trailer full of Brownie Scouts. The Brownies were a little more lively than the Cubs I thought. Girls just love doing “pageant waves” while parading. Guys aren’t into it so much.
More floats came by, then it was time for the animals led by the tiniest of dogs dressed in full elf costume, and hanging out the window of a big pickup truck.
Tiny elf dog was the prelude for a Poodle Parade consisting of several white, standard poodles who spent more time licking children’s faces than parading down the road. This was a real joy for the children. Among the poodles was the alpha male I spotted earlier, but he was on his best behavior–and a very short leash.
Bringing up the rear of the animal contingent were three beautiful chestnut mares ridden by three older cowboys who were truly in their element. These guys saluted, waved their cowboy hats at the crowd and guided their mounts gently over to the crowd for some “nose rubs”. The horses weren’t diapered and I kept waiting for a middle of the road “accident”, but it never happened. Those horses may have been on a slim diet for the day.
Finally, the crowd was kept waiting no longer. It was time for the Main Event…Santa Claus was comin’ to town. Parents hoisted kids on their shoulders and us old folks stepped back a bit to give them some access to the big guy. Mommies told their kids that this was their one big chance to show Santa how good they are. “Be on your best behavior kids…don’t blow this!”
Santa brought Mrs. Claus to town for this event and they were sharing the spotlight like a pair of rock stars. Their float was low to the ground for better viewing by the children and decorated with a lot of lights that formed big wreaths. Santa was a big hit. He held the crowd in place until the end of the parade route which was in the church parking lot about a quarter mile away.
Thinking that the parade was complete, I began to look for a way through the large crowd, when Santa came whizzing by me in a white golf cart. It seemed that Santa wasn’t through for the night. He was dropped off on the lawn beside a restaurant where a huge fir tree had been decorated for the season. Santa had the job of lighting the tree, but we had to wait for the cart bearing Mrs. Claus, who was being fashionably late. A choir stand had been erected beside the tree, and a group of carolers were singing into microphones for the crowd. Nice touch!
Sooner rather than later, Mrs. Claus made her way to the tree and joined the big fella’. On cue, Santa lifted a long wand outfitted with Christmas lights and, with dramatic upswing of the wand, the tree was filled with an outstanding display of white lights. What a show! The crowd, which seemed even larger now, lingered long listening to carols…A grand time was had by all.
Conclusion: Retirement is a reward for being in a hurry all of our adulthood. The aspect of retirement that I love most is that we have so many great choices before us. The choice for this night was football in front of a fire, or watchin’ a fabulous Christmas Parade float by in front of me. Well, as it turned out, the parade finished in time to catch the second half. So, without hurry, there was still time to do both. After all, I’m just Easin’ Along…
