Halloween Parade 04
Every since I came to New York, I’ve tried to go to the Halloween Parade. One year I was too tired and almost kicked myself the following day for not going. This year, since the weather was supposed to be nice and I’d spent so time on my costume, I wanted to actually be in the parade. As expected, I had a little trouble getting thru the crowd with the bike. It was total chaos downtown.
Once I got in the parade, I had a blast. I saw lots of creative costumes - not all of which were for the kiddies, of course. I met several people and Jerry Garcia even stopped me along the way and offered some advice as to how to get rid of bad dreams. (Thanks, Jerry.)
At some point, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw 6 or 7 other Elliot-E.T. combos, with BMX bikes, baskets, and red-hoodies. They invited me to join them for their ride. To this point, I’d be walking my bike for several reasons: 1.) it was really too small 2.) the seat was harder than a rock 3.) E.T. kept falling to one side and shifting the weight of the bike 4.) and perhaps most importantly, I hadn’t really ridden a bike in many years and I didn’t want to hit anyone.
Anyway, they were nice enough to wait up on my, so decided to pedal slowly. The main guy looked kinda familiar and asked if I was a fan. He said he ran a website, iloveET.com and they would do it again next year. I was in several picts with them and I think I was even on TV (NY1 here in New York.)
When I got home, I checked out the website and what did I find? It was Nick Gjoka from the Totally Obsessed episode! No wonder he looked familiar! Nick, sorry I didn’t thank you earlier. Your E.T. idea made lots of people happy this weekend, including myself. Thank you.
