First Friday

The traditional foundation that our Christmas holiday schedule has been built upon shifted this year. The first Friday of each December always meant a journey to downtown Dallas and volunteering for Christmas Parade.

It all started back in ’91 when Jill volunteered for the parade which benefits Children’s Medical Center. Jill worked as the Parade Central Coordinator (the Maureen O’Hara role in Miracle on 34th Street). Her service for all of those years is represented by the individual volunteer pins showcasing each year’s parade.



Fyi – if anyone happens to see a 2004 parade pin (the one shaped like a TV) laying on the streets of Dallas it’s mine. It fell off as I was helping an oversized character onto an old fire truck.
As we started to date, Jill recruited me and our friends to join this annual behind the scenes gang and so started our family tradition of working the character and celebrity coordination in the hectic, controlled chaos time at the staging of the parade.

So, after a couple decades of volunteer coordination the organizers decided to outsource our efforts to a professional service company. Hmmmm – I guess our track record of never missing a beat for a couple decades wasn’t strong enough.

As a driver – our job was to get the characters and celebrities and some celebrities who were characters from the staging area to the individual car or float they were to ride in. Sounds simple enough, but toss in a dozen or so marching bands, half dozen large helium balloons and their handlers and 80 or so vehicles spread across 3 or 4 parallel blocks and the task becomes one of interpretive navigation - Especially when the parade starts and the ‘delivery locations’ are now on the move as we transport our character cargo just-in-time. Mix in 300k people walking around trying to get to their spot to view the parade and the driving was challenging.




Here are some things that I learned during my time working Parade Central.

* If you wear red sweatpants, a white sweatshirt and a Santa hat many random people ask you questions.
* Workers at McDonald’s love it when a golf cart comes through the drive thru getting coffee and hot cocoa.
* Old guys in classic cars love showing off their vehicles.
* It is possible to fit 6 Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and me into a single golf cart.
* The Adolphus elevator on the left side is the smallest, oddest elevator I've ever ridden.
* My friend Dave looks very pasty in December when sitting next to Miss America.
* There are many, many people who love volunteering to stage a parade in order to put a smile on a child.

As our family grew, our girls attended the parade with their Aunt and Grandmother as we continued to work the parade staging. Of course Jill would occasionally work in a private visit with key celebrities for the girls when possible. We even called on the big guy for a special visit.

One of my favorite stories was a few years back, while we were waiting for the madness to start. Batman was just hanging out with us when Doug pulled up in his golf cart and asked, ‘You want an ego boost?’, Batman jumped on the back of the cart and Doug raced through the side streets of Dallas with kids screaming for Batman everywhere he drove.

Part of the whole tradition was the maddening schedule that occurred the day before the parade including me hurrying from work and getting to the Adolphus Hotel (parade epicenter) the night before. I’ll certianly miss the door man at the Adolphus, a bear of a man in a top coat with the world’s biggest smile and a handshake that engulfs you. He simply knows me as ‘Jill’s Husband’. After getting settled in and taking the traditional Christmas card picture in front of the Adolphus tree, the girls and I would have dinner at the Rodeo Bar and Grill. They loved the fact they were allowed and even encouraged to toss peanut shells on the floor. Of course I had to instruct them that meant after opening the shells not before.

Our Parade Central gang would wrap up each year with our pilgrimage to Chuy’s to celebrate another successful year. A dozen or so folks all dressed in coordinating sweat suits chowing on TexMex always garnered interesting looks.

After all of my thinking of the parade and the traditions that have changed for us, I have found one benefit. My yearly, ‘what have I done with those red sweats and white sweatshirt’ search is over. No more last minute panic, tearing the house upside down, swearing that next year will be different – I’ll be organized next year. Nope, it’s this year that’s different.


It's silly but I believe, It’s silly but I believe, It’s silly but I believe ...