That's me -- MSHS Buccaneer band geek extraordinare. Fall of my senior year we marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. (That would be November 1967...42 years ago!..if you're counting).
It marked several turning points in my life -- first big trip without my family, first trip to NYC, falling in love with NYC, falling out of love with my steady beau (temporarily, but portent-iously) and being on TV for the first time. Of course, I was in uniform with 125 identically dressed others, marching down the street, but STILL!
We were the band that leads in the Santa float -- that guaranteed us pretty good screen time. And we were behind the float that carried Dionne Warwick. Took me years to get "Say a Little Prayer for You" out of my head. Damn. It's back.
It poured down rain for almost the entire duration of the event. We queued up in the Central Park staging area and someone issued us throwaway clear plastic raincoats. We had to stuff our bright gold plumes inside our shakos (the West Point style hats that went with our cadet clone uniforms) to keep the dye from running down onto our faces.
When we got to the marker that cued us to the main viewing stand in front of Macys, we doffed the raincoats, stuck the plumes back in our caps and performed our brains out. (Almost all of us ended up with strep throat by the time we got home!)
When we went to NYC in 2007, we stayed in a hotel near that Macy's -- THE Macy's -- and I was tickled to death to see that the painted street markers are permanent. Of course they need to be touched up each year before the big event, but I can honestly say that a full 40 years after my turn on that tarmac, it still made my heart leap just a little to see it.
I have a recording of the medley we performed - if I knew how to post an MP3 here I would. We were pretty good.
A photo of me walking in Times Square with my soon-to-be-temporarily-ex boyfriend and two of our friends was in our home town paper, along with interviews. The clippings are in a scrapbook at Mom's or I'd scan them in here. It was a pretty big deal back then. Hope it still is.
I still watch the Parade every year -- growing up we called it the Macy's Day Parade and I thought that Macy was the reason for the holiday. I'm still thankful for Macy's. I first read the book "Miracle on 34th Street" when I was a very young child, and the original movie version (1947 B&W with Natalie Wood as Susan Walker and Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle) is still one of my very favorite holiday films. So to have actually perfomed in that parade was huge for me.
And my favorite part ever year is each and every one of the bands. Because I know how hard they worked to get there -- the fundraising (humiliating door to door sales of everything you can think of), the endless practice sessions (marching in the parking lot after dark to get the feel of miles of asphalt.) It was all so very worth it.
So if you watch the Parade this year, think of me and all of those sweet band geeks getting their moment. And enjoy!
8 comments:
OMG. pearl, that photo! And what at honor to march in the Macy's Parade!
That photo actually doesn't even look like you. And i laughed when i saw it because I was just watching a Season DVD of Greys Anatomy this morning and the episode is the one where Kurev is pissed at the two 'seizure patrol' high school band students who were put out because they have to take care of their fellow band member with supposed epilepsy. Kurev is telling them what nerds they are to be in band. But when he told the patient she was a band nerd he did it with the Kurev kindness.
Anyway, band members were indeed thought of as nerds and my husband hearing me laugh looked over my shoulder at your photo and then reminded me that he TOO was a marching band nerd, (played the snare drum).
i forget, what did you play?
I am a weirdo in that i don't much like parades at all. I think it's because after Mardi Gras parades in Louisiana most of them tend to be let-downs. I thought all parades were supposed to have beads thrown at them and was disappointed as a child to find out that wasn't the case.
I played clarinet in the marching band and oboe in concert. Yeah -- when I go geek I go BIG geek!!
Great photo! How cool that your first experience in NYC was marching in the Thanksgiving Day parade!
What are you and Bud doing for the holiday this year?
pearl, how is your mom?
Mom's back at home. They couldn't find anything wrong with her...aside from being almost 87, that is. But aside from the bump on the head, which is healing fine, she sounds okay. Brother picked her up and took her to SoFL with his family for Thanksgiving.
I'm hoping this will signal to her that she really needs to not be living at home alone. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't called her when I did.
We had our usual long weekend on the Big Island - 4 days at Waiakaloa. Very restful.
And we're headed into the holidays with most of the heavy lifting behind us.
Oh i figured it out Pearl! thats so cool!! i love the parade, when my sister moved home she thought "THE" parade was in Seattle and she got all excited and wanted to go, but we dont have a parade, just a tree lighting and we didnt go because i was packing. :(
Jojo, doesnt it kind of remind you of freaks and geeks? (if you havent seen the show Pearl, don't be insulted by the title)
one day I will make it New York I think prefer new york in the fall/winter i dont care about hot summer new york, when i invision new york its cold and you wear big pea coats and scarves. its like taking seattle and making everyone dress nice, haha, we tend to slum it here in the emerald city on most days, and even when you thinka bout getting really dressed up you think "ah its seattle it doesnt matter" haha
My daughter and I went to NYC in early August this year, and it was a little hot, but bearable. SUCH a cool city!
I loved the show Freaks and Geeks...and one of current faves is Big Bang Theory. I celebrate the geek!
And jo, I forgot to tell you -- my soph year, we had a drummer who had seizures and there were two guys who basically took care of him whenever it happened. We all loved him and just figured it was part of who he was. We geeks stuck together!
And Kylee -- you must go to NYC. Start a piggy bank for it...one of the coolest splurges of my life was the weekend my sister Deb and I stayed at the Plaza and saw 3 shows in 3 days (Miss Saigon, Phantom and Forbidden Broadway). On one visit, years later, we saw 2 shows (Jekyll & Hyde and Scarlet Pimpernell) in one day! We LOVED our musicals!! I still do, and married a man who shares the love.
Post a Comment