Thanksgiving Day Parade

Thanksgiving Day Parade

         We left early for the drive downtown to find a good spot. Mom and Dad said there would be clowns and floats. We would see marching bands and balloons of cartoon characters. There will be many people watching the parade go down the street.

         "You two will have to bundle up today. It's cold outside," mom said.
She had to get our winter coats that had been packed in a box, out of the closet. Dad made a thermos full of hot cocoa.

         "We need to leave in a little while," he hollered from the kitchen. "Help your brother get ready, Jenny."

         When we arrived downtown, Dad gave a man two dollars to park in his lot. I want to own a big parking lot when I grow up. We still had to walk a long way with a bunch of people we didn't know. Everbody's breath made clouds as we walked down the sidewalk.

         "Take Timmy's hand," mom told Jenny.
She reached out and her gloves grabbed mine. I wondered if a cloud will come up if I fart.

         "We are almost there," Dad said.
All I can see is legs, butts, coats, sidewalk and brick walls.

          We stopped and stood on the edge of the sidewalk near the street curb. I leaned out from the curb and looked both ways down the street. I thought how odd it is, that the sidewalk is so crowded yet the street is completely empty.

         Mom placed a blanket on the sidewalk near the curb, and we all sat down to wait. Dad passed out cups of cocoa for each of us. I got a sippy-cup and told Jenny I have to pee. Behind me people were hurrying around noisily. Little children asleep in their strollers. Moms and dads searching for "a spot" and talking about other people. I gotta pee. I got up and walked over to Dad and pulled on his jacket sleeve.

         "I have to pee, Daddy," I said.

         "Shhh. Look, here come the clowns," he said, pointing up the street.

         "Wow!" I said, the clowns on minibikes drove right up to me and stopped.
There are tall clowns and short ones with funny big feet and silly faces. One has a dog leash with an invisible dog. He wanted me to pet it then gave Jenny and I some candy. The clowns are everywhere, and one riding a fire engine with a siren stopped, then ran toward us with a bucket of water. He ran right up to another clown standing in front of Jenny and threw the bucket's contents at him. He ducked and it looked like Jenny would be drenched. She covered her head and turned away as the tiny pieces of paper floated into the laughing crowd. I peed.

         I was able to hide the wetness for a while, by sitting down with my knees up.

         One right after another came colorful floats with waving people throwing candy out to everyone on the sidewalk.There was marching bands with baton throwers all dressed the same. Huge balloons of Tweety Bird and Popeye being pulled by many people with ropes came down the street, and I stood up to see better.

         "Oh gross," said Jenny, pointing to my wet pants. It was as if everyone on the sidewalk stopped watching the parade to take a look at my pee stain. Even Little Red Riding-hood is pointing at me from a floating forest, laughing. I felt so small and the wetness was very cold. I was four and proud when Mom and Dad called me a "big boy". Now, I was crying like a baby. I tried to hold it back. I tried to tell them, but I couldn't help it.

         "He told me he had to go," Dad said to Mom and Jenny. "I should have taken him to go then, but the parade just started. It's my fault too," he explained.
He picked me up and held me until the parade was over, wet spot and all. Then he carried me all the way to the car and told me that sometimes it's hard to make people listen to each other. He made me feel bigger again. I fell asleep in the car on the way home. I never peed my pants again.

Stephen Becker