Watching the Parade

This column was first published here on November 3, 2010.
Edited versions were subsequently published,with permission of the author,

in print and online editions of community newspapers across Chicago.

I want to tell you that I love parades.

I want to be the type of woman who gladly sings those great movie lyrics:

“I love a parade, the tramping of feet,
I love every beat I hear of a drum.
I love a parade, when I hear a band
I just want to stand and cheer as they come.
That rat-a-tat-tat, the blare of a horn.
That rat-a tat-tat, a bright uniform;
The sight of a drill will give me a thrill,
I thrill at the skill of everything military.
I love a parade, a handful of vets,
A line of cadets or any brigade,
For I love a parade…”

But I’m not.

Like most people, I have mixed feelings about parades.

I was in a parade once. I was a 10-year-old Irish girl wearing a green uniform and marching downtown in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, with my fellow Girl Scouts from St. Clare of Montefalco School.

I want to tell you that it was a wonderful experience and that I felt like Judy Garland strolling down the avenue with Fred Astaire in “Easter Parade.” (Check out a great video clip I have posted at citymomchicago.blogspot.com.)

But my impressions of that day marching down the windswept State Street on March 17th?

Well, it was cold, noisy, chilly, exciting, a little intimidating, frigid, a little fun, and cold.

I thought about all that last Saturday, the day of the 23rd Ward Regular Democratic Organization’s annual Pumpkin Parade on Archer Avenue. Like the parade of my youth, it was chilly---but not bad if you stood on the north side of the street in the warm sun.

A few parade observations:

** I give a lot of credit to the elected officials who sponsor the parade: Alderman Mike Zalewski, State Representative Michael J. Zalewski, and Congressman Dan Lipinski. Politicians in other parades often dress up in their best duds and ride in the swankiest convertible bearing a big sign with their name. Vanity on wheels. But not these three. They dress in casual clothes and walk the parade route, handing out candy to kids along the curb. Nice regular-joe touch from three down-to-earth men. Governor Quinn, also a man with the common touch, joined them this year.


** It was nice to see local high school bands marching and playing: St. Laurence/Queen of Peace, Curie, Brother Rice/Mother McAuley, and Kennedy. Special tip of the cap to the soulful teen trio from Kennedy (guitar, bass and drums) that was several units behind the Kennedy marching band, riding on a trailer and playing some hot licks on a cold day. (Their version of “Sweet Home Chicago” really livened up the parade.)

** The Shriners, as always, added a bit of whimsical fun. Where else but a parade can an otherwise respectable middle-aged businessman dress in silk pants and a purple turban while riding on a motorized kiddie kar outfitted like a flying carpet---and not be institutionalized? They were great fun, and their silly smiles were infectious for young and old.

** The true stars of the parade, as always, were the children in costumes. Really, who can top a three-year-old boy dressed like Scooby Doo, a two-year-old girl dressed like Snow White, or a baby with a halo and angel wings?

** The only real downside to the Pumpkin Parade is that it is a victim of its own success. Because it has become so popular, everyone wants to be in it---so it’s longer than it ought to be. And it ends on an ear-splitting exclamation point---with several fire trucks and ambulances blaring full blast, much to the delight of the boys along the curb and the “boys” driving the trucks. Boys do love toys and noise, don’t they?

All in all, though, parades are fun. We could use a few more.

See you next week….

Joan Hadac is a Chicago news/feature reporter, editor and columnist.Read her online at www.citymomchicago.blogspot.com