News from the creative front

Anyone who knows me knows that I have developed a strange attraction to parades. I used to be terrified of clowns, and still do not have any great love of them. Most of my childhood memories are of hiding behind my Mom's legs and only being pried out when the balloon vendor came near. That hasn't really changed. But I had decided upon my arrival in New York, that I would try to take as many creative, and possibly strange jobs as I could. I wanted to take in the full girth of the oddities of the NYC creative world. Needless to say it was impossible to over look the greatest of all parades that was drawing close.

Through a few twists and turns, I was able to secure a inside view of the inflation night. I was hired as a character guide, which basically means someone to hold the hand of the giant fuzzy characters as they try to navigate a crowd. Was I the only person who was unaware that this job even existed? I have wandered many a crowded street, hyperventilating in a furnace of a costume in the Hawaiian islands...all alone. Stumbling with limited visibility trying to dehydrate enough so to forgo a bathroom break. I thought that was the name of the game. If you want to be the cute photographed mascot of the parade, you have to suffer.

So to become the personal assistant to a costumed lad seemed like I had awoken from a long slumber. This Winnebago was stuffed with deli sandwiches, hot coffee and a quad of characters who when unmasked spoke of workers rights and agency relations. They received timed breaks to rest and hydrate, and some even had exclusive costume rights to certain characters. I felt so naive to all of this, me with my Eco friendly homemade costumes of recycled things. Here I was in the mix with an Italian sub munching posse of of savvy players. They were not going to suit up until they were good and ready. The public was lucky to have them.

Out into the streets we went past Scooby-Doo and Shrek, Hello Kitty and Dora the Explorer. My gentle hold on the Carebear's hand was soon returned by a death grip from within the felt as we faced the mob. Soon, I was using a swing of my leg to discretely push the hoard of strollers aside. I kept smiling and greeting, smile and greet, smile and shove, smile, nudge, push, smile, etc. Then finally plant the Carebear in place in front of a photo backdrop. Then my duties shifted to pushing blowing garbage out of the frame and trying to get as many kids photographed as possible before the even more desperate escape to the sandwich laden trailer with my heat exhausted Sharebear. The people knew that we were not going to budge from the climate controlled splendor for thirty minutes, so they were proactive in their pushing of children into our path. Anything and everything was used to block our way. Some children were sent on missions to grab the Carebear's leg and hold on for dear life. But nothing would stand in the way of this highly trained costumed commando. Double time we walked, and the crowd soon began to jump aside upon realizing that we were not stopping for anything.