Everybody loves a parade
Written by Jennifer Burton
I'm not an early bird. I work nights, so something has to be pretty important to get me out of bed and out of the house on a cold morning.
But Saturday morning, I woke up and walked the mile or so from my house downtown. I had a job to do. Walking a dog. Not MY dog, like I do every other morning. Today, I was going to help walk the News & Record’s dog ... a giant helium-filled pup with a rolled up newspaper in its mouth... in the Greensboro holiday parade.
This is my second year walking in the parade, and I continue to be impressed by how it boosts my holiday spirit.
I've been to plenty of parades in my life, but I don't remember crowds being so animated. When I was a kid, my primary goal was to be able to see over the crowd and to snag a few pieces of candy. In high school, we went to Charlotte's parade to see my good friend, who was a Carousel queen. When I lived up north, I dragged my husband to New York about 7 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving and stood with a zillion other people, packed so tightly you couldn't turn around, to witness the Macy's parade.
As many times as I've been a spectator, I don't ever remember cheering or clapping or wishing the participants a Merry Christmas.
But the people of Greensboro do all those things. I could feel them hold their breath as we threaded our balloon through traffic lights overhead. When we'd spin our news hound around the street, the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. And I can't count the number of happy folks who wished us a "Merry Christmas" or shouted, "Happy Holidays."
So, to all those who lined the streets for the parade, I just wanted to say, "Thank you."
Your Christmas spirit is absolutely infectious.
Parade slide show here.