Christmas Parade

Today is the Christmas parade in Columbia. It has changed a lot since I was a kid. When I was growing up, we had movie and TV stars to be in the parade. At my first parade, my father's office was about two blocks away from Main Street. He brought a ladder, so I could see over the crowd. One year, we had those contraptions with mirrors to see over the crowd. Then, his office moved to Richland Street, which was near the start of the parade, so I could see the stuff first, before the crowds on Main St. I saw James Drury from "The Virginian" on a horse. I saw Dean Jones from Disney movies. I saw Leif Erickson from "High Chapparal". But, the big star was William Shatner from "Star Trek". He was dressed in his Captain Kirk uniform and sitting on the back of a convertible. His pants were pulled down a bit, so that I could see his Fruit of the Loom underwear. I was quite surprised, because I thought Captain Kirk had come from the future, so what was he doing wearing present day underwear? It was a big letdown. The year of Leif Erickson, I went to the parade luncheon and sat next to him. He was very drunk. I asked Daddy why he smelled so bad. I had never smelled liquor before. He actually fell out of his chair. There was the year that Donna Douglas was scheduled to appear. She was on "The Beverly Hillbillies", but she got as far as Charlotte and developed the flu. The word was that she didn't want to come to a small town like Columbia, so they got Billy Mumy from "Lost in Space" instead. I was sick, so I couldn't go. But, my father got an autographed picture of him for me. That was cool. As I got older, the stars became less and less. Now, it is a parade for politicians, school bands, and minor beauty queens. I guess the young kids like it. I have never officially been in a parade, but I did by accident in the Prosperity SC Christmas Parade. I swerved to avoid a truck on the highway and found my car behind Santa Claus. People waved at me, so I waved back for about a block, and then they turned, and I went straight. It was rather bizarre.