Macy's Parade, Broadway above Times Square. November 1988
Newcomers to NYC definitely have a punch list of things they want to experience. High on my list was the Macy's Parade down Broadway. I had watched it on TV (concurrently with other cities' parades through the magic of television) since I was a kid. Those huge balloons wobbling down between the tall buildings was burned into my psyche. I HAD TO see the Macy's Parade! Never mind that my New York native work friends at NYU warned against it and said flat out, "It is much better on TV." I just had to see it.
The parade route was packed with people for starters. Broadway was not even passable. There were police on every corner controlling the crowds and encouraging spectators to find a spot and stay put. We ended up getting off the A train at 59th Street/Columbus Circle, walking down 8th Avenue (which was eerily empty), and cutting across a midtown street to hit the parade route. One of the most surreal moments of the experience was looking down an empty, narrow street in the 50s, like through some slit in a piece of stone, and seeing a huge Garfield the Cat float by. THAT was impressive. My work colleagues were right, however; the parade route was mobbed, everyone was a tourist and had no idea what was going on, and it was very cold. The whole experience was "wow" for about 10 minutes and then suddenly I realized, "it WAS much better on TV". The balloons moved by at a snail's pace. They were being "handled" by men on foot with huge tethers. It was nearly impossible to see the street-level floats and the marching bands only played music at designated places, so they walked by us drumming a cadence. I understood why TV showed multiple parades at one time - viewers saw the best bits of each by cutting from one to the next - watching just one parade was dull. For a little kid, seeing the parade would create a lifelong memory. For someone who remembered watching it close up on TV on Thanksgiving mornings since they were a kid, it was a totally different experience.
Two years later, already much more of a New Yorker and far more jaded, I was invited by our neighbors and friends across the street [see: Dim Sum] to go down to Central Park at midnight before Thanksgiving to see the Macy's balloons get inflated. THAT apparently was the thing to do (as opposed to the parade itself). I declined actually. A scary late-night subway ride down to Central Park in cold, late-November weather? No, thank you. Our friends went and apparently had a great time - I wasn't in the least interested. I would watch the parade on TV and have a lovely luncheon with those same friends Thanksgiving afternoon. That was far more civilized.
New York City makes young people grow up extraordinarily fast. Natives and longer term residents make fun of the starry-eyed optimism of newbies in the City. I resented that at work my first few months until I began to see that all the ribbing and teasing were actually friendly advice, too. New Yorkers are very helpful, gregarious people, but they are also direct and usually in a rush. Out of towners perceive that as rude when, in fact, a lot of time locals are trying to be helpful. I met some of the most helpful people in my life in New York City and benefitted from extreme acts of kindness. I think that is the counterpoint to how hard and cynical a person can become the longer they reside in the City. "What's wrong with you?! Here let me show you" can actually mean, "you are doing it incorrectly. I can help you".
In hindsight, I wish I had gone to see the balloons getting inflated. That is usually not on TV (except local NYC news) and it IS something unique. I did, however, fulfill a youthful fantasy - even if it was not so fantastic.