Floats, Floating, Floated:
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I'm lazy by nature. I know shocking! So even when I was young I always wanted to sleep in on Thanksgiving Morning. Mainly it was due to the warm bed in a cold house and wonderful smells of the turkey my Mom got up at 3 am to put in the oven so it would be ready by the early afternoon. She always cook a fairly large bird because we loved left over turkey, cold turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey pot pie and just turkey for weeks after words. However my plans to sleep in always seemed to be thwarted by Mom (if she was up we were) . The attraction for getting up was to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. My mom always loved seeing the marching bands, and the Rockettes. My favorite was the Character Balloons and of course the Floats. I was always amazed that these magical mobile islands could maneuver down the tight streets of New York with out hitting anyone or anything. As I got older though I learned that didn't use to be th case. The original balloons used in 1928 were filled with helium and for the finale the balloons were released to float free, unfortunately due to design flaws the Balloons burst. The following year the balloons were redesigned and allowed to float free. Tags were sewn into the Balloons and prizes were awarded to those that returned them.
- In 1986, a Raggedy Ann balloon crashed into a lamppost and sent a lamp into the street. The same injuries.
- In 1993, The Sonic the Hedgehog balloon crashed into a lamppost at Columbus Circle and injured an off-duty police officer.
- In 1994, the Barney balloon tore its side on a lamppost, but no one was injured.
- In 1995, the Dudley the Dragon balloon that was leading the parade was speared and deflated on a lamppost and showered glass on the crowd below.
- In 1997, high winds pushed the Cat in the Hat balloon into a lamppost. The falling debris struck a parade-goer, fracturing her skull and leaving her in a coma for a month. Size rules were implemented the next year, eliminating larger balloons like the Cat in the Hat. The same high winds also caused the New York Police to stab and stomp down the Barney balloon over crowd concerns. They also stabbed a Pink Panther balloon for the same reason. Neither balloon actually caused any injuries.
- In 2005, the M&M's chocolate candies balloon caught on a streetlight in Times Square. Two sisters were struck by falling debris, suffering minor injuries. As a result, new safety rules were introduced. Those rules came in handy for the 2006 parade, as balloons were lowered because of rain and high winds. The M&M's balloon was retired after 2006, and replaced by a float saluting Broadway theatre and musicals.
- In 2006, the low-flying Spongebob balloon caught on a lamppost in Herald Square, but no injuries were reported. Spectators chanted "Free Spongebob!", cheering once a police officer and a concerned father released him. year, a Superman balloon had its hand torn off by a tree. Neither incident caused any
Today I will be sleeping in, the parade really doesn't hold much fancy for me anymore much of it is watching Hollywood stars try to sing (any song) , and they really have no business singing in the first place i.e. William Shatner, funny as all get out but voice like nails on a chalk board.
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