Hoping everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We're currently drinking coffee and flipping between the Macy's and the Philadelphia Dunkin' Thanksgiving Parades. That Dunkin' Donuts one initially started out in Philadelphia as the Gimbles Thanksgiving Day Parade, back in 1920. It ran until 1986, and it always seemed to be on in my parents' and grandparents' houses, despite being wildly inferior in quality and talent. By the 80's, it felt more like visiting a sad carnival in an old empty town. Like a scene in a favorite Bradbury story:
Now a sword-swallower choked on a sword, sprayed kerosene in a gout of flame, and wandered out to applause from five small girls.
Three clowns knocked each other across the ring and bounded off to aching silence.
I think it was a Philly thing. It was occurring in our own city, and we would like it if it killed us. My sister even starred in it one year. That's how it was treated in our house, like she was performing a musical number. Meanwhile she worked for a now-defunct toy company called Kiddie City. She was one of the five folks holding a support tether to an extremely small, round Kiddie City balloon in the parade. And we missed her in the broadcast.
Eventually, I stopped watching either parade. It just seemed a little soulless and phony. A few years ago, I turned the Macy's parade back on. Had a fire going, had some music playing in the background, and kept the volume on the tv nice and low. Felt a little like being at my grandmother's house on Thanksgiving morning. And it actually wasn't all that soulless. Nor phony. It turns out it's that wonderful thing called Tradition. And at this age, I welcome the actors I've never seen... and the songs I've never heard.
This year it's raining at both locations, and the crowds are excited and happy nonetheless.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Thanks SO much for reading this blog. I truly appreciate it.
Here are some vintage and delightfully creepy photos from the Gimbles parade.
