Christmas On Parade

I awoke to a feeling of deja-vu. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing fiercely, and it was only about 40 out, normal for this time of year but warmer than it has been. It was exactly the same weather we had for last year's Collingswood Christmas Parade. I found myself hoping it wouldn't be exactly the same day...one that tired me out!

Headed for the bank first. They were quiet, and I was in and out. Since I was in Collingswood anyway, I parked my bike by the Library and volunteered there next. I'm glad I did. They had a huge stack of DVDs to put away.

I finished with the DVDs and ducked out the door just in time. Less than five minutes after I stepped outside, teenagers carrying the "Collingswood - It's Where You Want To Be" banner heralding the beginning of the parade marched by.

I stood with a mother and her two children, a boy about six and a girl about four. They were so cute. The boy in particular was incredibly excited. He kept literally jumping up and down and shouting "This is my favorite parade!" I loved their reactions to everything. They were hugged by Frosty and his "snow wife" Crystal, the Grinch, and Rudolph the Red Nosed-Reindeer. The little miss waved to Supergirl. The boy high-fived Spider Man and one of the three stilts-walkers. He begged the other two to juggle for the crowd...and they both came through.

There were other attractions in the parade, too. Like all Philadelphia-area parades, there were several Mummers bands. My favorite was the one with the farm theme, including two cows, a very yellow chicken, and sequin-trimmed overalls.

There were at least four classic car groups, including one that featured General Lee (of the 70s TV show The Dukes of Hazard) and Herbie the Love Bug. There was a motorcycle group and a bike group, the latter representing Collingswood's Bikeshare program. The motorcycle group did tricks. The bike group nearly had a collision, but they laughed it off.

The little girl was especially excited by all of the various beauty pageant winners in the parade. Her mother and brother kept pointing out all of the "princesses" to her. I counted at least 8 "princesses," including the last one who came with a "prince" (I believe they were the King and Queen of the Parade).

As with last year, lots of Collingswood and Haddon Township-area schools had floats and bands. I liked the elementary school with the hippie/peace on Earth theme, and the one with the baker's theme, including a little baker and gingerbread people walking among the crowds. Felt sorry for the high school bands, though. The wind was brutal on them, especially the flag dancers. More than one flag dancer lost her flag and her place before they passed us by.

There were the three stilt walkers, two of whom were also jugglers. The Ritz Theater and a studio in Audubon had dancers. There was an African dance troupe from Camden and several non-spangled string bands. The glass company's float sprayed fake snow on the crowd. Another float representing a company that sells inflatable outdoor decorations sent showers of bubbles into the air.

Unlike last year, I stayed outside for the entire parade. By the time Santa arrived via Collingswood Fire Company ladder truck, the little girl was asleep, my toes were numb, and I was ready to move on to Cafe Antonio's for lunch and to the Haddon Township Library.

I never made it to the Haddon Township Library. I discovered when I unlocked my bike that the back tire was low...again. For the second time in a little less than two months. The front tire hasn't gone flat in ages, but the back one keeps dying. I have no idea how that happened. It was fine when I left the apartment this morning, or at least, I thought it was.

I did have lunch at Cafe Antonio's a few blocks from the library. That may not have been a smart idea, either. They were busy as heck. I bought a slice of mushroom pizza and a Diet Pepsi and got out as quickly as I could.

Ended up just walking home. That wasn't so bad. The air felt brisk and crisp as I headed across Newton River Park. The sun had disappeared behind clouds during the parade, but it emerged again while I was on my walk. The wind whipped across the pewter-gray river, ruffling the feathers on a group of ducks swimming near the path.

Stopped at CVS on my way home. I wanted toothpaste, but they didn't have what I was looking for. I did end up getting three DVDs, though. They had Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales and Go Diego Go: The Great Jaguar Rescue for five dollars cheaper than FYE had them. (Diego is for my nephew Khai.) They also had the western comedy Maverick in a regular DVD case. I've only seen it in a flimsy snap case. I've been wanting to clear out my decade-old video copy of Maverick for a while now.

I was lucky to find two teenagers and an older man doing yard work for my neighbors when I got home. I talked the boys into helping me change the tire. Actually, it's not changing the tire I have trouble with. I can do that just fine. It's getting the chain on that's a problem, especially with my loose chain. The boys were able to fix it (one had apparently worked for a bike shop on Haddon Avenue for a time), but they forgot to put the chain guard and the tire holders back on...and I got the nails for those mixed-up and it took me a while to do it.

After spending all that time outside in the chilly wind, I spent the rest of the day indoors finishing the Christmas cleaning. Got the windows done, then did some major dusting and re-arranging. I've been wanting to clear out the old metal and plastic CD holders that are rather awkward-looking and don't really fit in the space they were in. I remembered the small rectangular crate I bought at JoAnn's a while back for my computer desk, then exiled to the back room when I got the roll-top and didn't need it in the bedroom anymore. I moved it to the living room. All of my home-made CDs and most of the Monkees CDs fit perfectly. It leaves plenty of room for other CDs or books and looks much better than the plastic/metal CD holders. Those will be donated to the thrift shop or left for scavengers.

I'm not quite as tired-out as I was last year after my parade day. I did get a full dinner in - flounder topped with Parmesan cheese, roasted Brussels sprouts, and a spinach and cherry tomato salad. Watched Charlie Brown Christmas during dinner.

I never did get to pulling out the Christmas decorations, though. Oh well. There's plenty of time. I'll see what I can get done tomorrow. (And I'm now glad I did skip the Haddon Township Library. I'll go there Tuesday. At least I got the Collingswood Library in.)