SANTA CLAUS? WHY BOTHER? by TICKLEBEAR

i froze my butt for you today,

surrounded by a mob of hysterical kids

& aggravated/ing parents...

to see santa claus.

i thought it might be a good idea...

yeah, right!!

(N-O-T!!!)

what was scheduled to start at 11 a.m.

only showed up 45 minutes later,

the parade draggued on,

leaving us often staring at an empty street.

i was not overwhelmed by the floats,

finding them rather plain & boring.

but i'll give credit to the volunteers

that paraded in this cold,

for our entertainment.

hats off to them!!

not being christian,

xmas itself has little meaning for me,

or should i say none at all?

but i still remember parades from my youth,

when it seemed more lavish,

more magical.

either my brain has embellished the memories,

or i can only see now

the overcommercialisation of this event,

to a sickening level...

i was surprised not to see some logo

stuck on santa's ass,

like mcdonald or mastercard,

or something...

fortunately,

not everything was totally mercantile

as we were treated to some participation

from the ethnic communities of montreal,

such as ukrainian (or russian?) dancers,

a chinese marching band,

some latino (mexican) dancing group;

also,

we saw some cheerleading troops doing quite well.

the policemen on horses

& a firetruck

proved as usual to be a crowd pleaser.

the shriners,

appeared also,

faithfully,

& thankfully.

their presence in our city

is a blessing.

but was it worth freezing for over 2 hours outside?

nope!!

if i'd been 40 years

without watching a parade,

it's a safe bet

it'll be another 40 years

before i do so again...

& given my age,

this is most likely

the last time,

because in 40 years,

i doubt i'll be thinking much

of santa claus & his parade...

i'm just glad

i'm back home,

& that's where i'll stay!!

but you can always watch it

on local channels tomorrow...

that's perhaps what i should have done.

what can i say?

i'm a creature of comfort...

:)~

HUGZ