Location: State Street
Date: Thursday, November 28, 2013; 6:45-10:45 am
“In an old house in Paris that was covered
with vines
Lived twelve little girls in two straight
lines
In two straight lines they broke their bread
And brushed their teeth and went to bed.
They left the house at half past nine
In two straight lines in rain or shine-
The smallest one was Madeline.”
- Ludwig Bemelmans
I had no idea what Thanksgiving
Day was…not for many years. Then
my first year in graduate school I was invited for a Thanksgiving party. Many years have passed since that day,
but Thanksgiving Day for me has become a special occasion. I have so many good memories of
spending Thanksgiving Day with friends, watching football and that sense of
togetherness and family. I have
said before that there are a few days in a year that one should not be
alone. Birthdays are one and
Thanksgiving Day is definitely on that list. For that reason I usually prefer travelling to visit friends
on Thanksgiving Day, but today was special. I had an opportunity to do something that I had never
imagined would be possible in my life.
I was going to carry a balloon in the 'McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade'. I was to be part of an
occasion that would be watched by many, either live or on TV. If I had grandchildren, this is one of
the things I would be telling them about with pride.
A few days prior to the parade I
was told that I would be carrying ‘Balloon
H’, whatever that turned out to be.
Looking at the weather forecast I knew that it was going to be cold and so
bundled up with plenty of layers, including double socks and think gloves. We had been asked to assemble in a
place called ‘The Hosteling International
Chicago’ at 6:45 am. I took a
cab to the venue and as I entered the building, I saw a huge crowd. There were
volunteers everywhere and many were having breakfast before being dispatched
for their duties. I checked-in
with a gentleman and he told me to head to a parking lot that was one block
south. I had some coffee and
headed there just as we started getting some light outside.
 |
| It was going to take all of that Helium! |
I recognized the place owing to a
balloon that was already being inflated and it was the only one that was edging
it’s way upward. I was told that I would be on “Madeline’,
though I had no clue what that meant. I picked up my shirt and headband and
put it over the other layers that I already had, not that it was much comfort
in the cold. I looked around the
parking lot and saw a huge truck carrying multiple long cylinders that
contained Helium. Spread out
throughout the lot were several flat balloons and they were enormous, even while
deflated. I could recognize a few
such as ‘Garfield’, ‘Curious George’ and even my old friend ‘Tweety’, who had been a handful when we
had practiced at the school. Now, at this stage I must point out that I was clueless when it came to knowing who or
what ‘Madeline’ was, having never
seen what she looked like, let alone read any books or seen any shows. I did see a sign saying ‘Balloon H’ and so went there to wait
with the group.
 |
| How 'Madeline' looked when I found her |
The inflation process was taking
a long time and looking at it I just knew that we were in for a long wait in
the cold. And boy was it
cold. As I tried to walk about a
bit to maintain some circulation in my limbs, the balloon company guys were
hard at work going from one balloon to another to hook it up to the tanks. They said that if we feeling cold, they
had been out here since 3:45 am!
But looking at them you wouldn’t think that they were in any ways
uncomfortable, since they were in great spirits and joking with everyone. They came over to inflate 'Madeline' and
I grabbed a cord, as had been instructed during our training. At first there didn’t seem to be enough
cords for everyone, but soon the guys tied some more and our team was now
all around her. My group had a big
family with parents, grandparents, kids and even uncles and aunts. In fact, there were families on many
other balloons as well. It seems
to be a Thanksgiving tradition for these folks, to do this and then go for their
dinner…and what a lovely tradition it is.
‘Madeline’ was inflated and now we were waiting for our turn
to leave. The parade had already
begun and from my spot I could see the long queue of floats and marching bands
going past us down State Street.
It was a slow procession and considering we were the 8th
balloon to depart, it was going to be a long time before we left, especially
since they were letting balloons join the parade periodically and were spaced
out. By this time my hands and
feet were numb and I wasn’t the only one who was suffering. People were trying to find various ways
to distract themselves and since I was holding ‘Madeline’s’ hand, one gentleman came and asked if he could give
her a high-5. I pulled on the
string and lowered her hand so that he could do it and then it was back to
waiting.
 |
| In the parade |
Finally, at 9:40 am we were
asked to proceed to the entrance of the lot since our turn was coming up
soon. As we walked towards the
gate, it was evident that ‘Madeline’
needed more air. The guys came and
filled some more, but she still wasn’t flying. We were supposed to join the parade after ‘Miss Chicago’ and I could see her pass
by, meaning fly or not, ‘Madeline’
was joining the procession. Our
instructor was leading us but with he lack of air, it seemed more like we were
carrying ‘Madeline’ on her back,
though we were making all efforts to prop her up. We walked down State Street dragging her in front of the
spectators though unlike me, the thousands who had gathered actually knew of ‘Madeline’ and so were cheering us. We were trying hard to get her upright
and though she was putting up a fight, just before we got to the TV zone something miraculous happened – ‘Madeline’
flew!
 |
| My Thanksgiving Day companion |
It was spectacular walking down
State Street and we were waving to the cheering crowd, and despite the cold, I
was having a tremendous time. It
reminded me why I had enjoyed doing the ‘Pride Parade’ earlier this year and as we walked past the TV cameras, even though
I was dressed like the ‘Tick’ and
wouldn’t be recognized, I did not care.
We had waited an eternity but the actual walk seemed like it was over
in an instant. We turned on
Randolph Street and waited till our instructor deflated ‘Madeline’, which took all of two minutes. She had been temperamental, but it was
wonderful having her as our companion this morning, never mind that I was
frozen beyond belief. The 3-hour
wait had been worth the 15-minute walk.
I did not go back to the starting point to collect my goody bag, instead
rushing into a coffee shop for some hot chocolate. No one in my group had complained about the cold, let alone
the people who were helping us. I
had never in my life thought that I would be a part of something special like
this…never. And though I had not
heard of her before this morning, I knew that I would never forget ‘Madeline’ for the rest of my life.
Epilogue
I told all everyone who would
listen that I had carried ‘Madeline’
in the parade. My friend Christine
from Pittsburgh had responded with a few quotes from the book and had claimed
it to be an iconic read for girls as they grow up. A few weeks later I received a Christmas present in the mail
and as I opened it, there was the book, ‘Madeline' by Ludwig Bemelmans. Inside it was a note from Christine, her husband Jason
and their daughter Meredith,
“Christmas 2013
To our friend Ritesh,
Who always finds the magic and poetry in the
simplest of things.
Love,
Christine, Jason & Meredith”
I may have spent this
Thanksgiving morning in the company of strangers, away from people who care
about me. But it had given me an
opportunity like no other…something that I would cherish forever. As I read my friend’s note for the
umpteenth time, I knew she was right about one thing. It had been an utterly magical experience.
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