This is Halloween
Police barricades; blocked off streets and Sixth Avenue; crowds are herded into corners of intersections; puzzled faces; painted faces; happy faces; bad costumes; regular jackets; cute costumes; half-bared chests. Walk a long block to Starbucks, stare at it longingly across the street, walk a block back, cross the street, walk the block yet again, venti cinnamon dolce latte. Squeeze past the crowd, let the crowd squeeze past you. Best costume ever - painted Hulk on bare skin. Tall Charlie Chaplin. Constant movement, no action, people cheering themselves, waiting. Best views taken, heads and shoulders cover most of the sight, damn tall people standing in front rows. Six police riders of mayhem, long awaited beginning of the parade. Dancing skeletons, dancing eyeballs, flying infant zombie butterflies. Paper snake biting its tail. Presidents; Clinton hugging Obama; Abraham Lincoln; Teddy Roosevelt. A guy with no mask that looks like Obama. Smiled. Various superheroes; too many Mario's; semi-costumed, half-masked, scantily painted. Roll-of-tissue-paper costume. Mad Hatters, Jokers aplenty. Plenty of Anonymous masks. Traditional costumes, dancing, drumming, orchestra. Mike Myers guy. Awesome Sybill Trelawney, Fight between a Sith and a Jedi (Qui-Gon dies) - cool. Raoul Duke. Ridiculously cool flamingo costume (flamingo body as a hat, black-n-pink tutu, bare legs, on a guy). Ash Ketchum (Satoshi). Mona Lisa painting. Tim Burton's clown. Edward Scissorhands. Monk. Poison Ivy. No-Face spirit from Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi. Hot girl posing for cameras. Fat Flash. Unsee. Human-sized Sonic and Tails. Cloud Strife. Scooby Gang. Russian matreshka costume. Headless real people. Trollface. Jack Skellington. Trekkies. A guy in a pink piglet suit with a tail and penis. Crowds thinning, two hours passed. Occupy Wall Street procession. Free newspapers; slogans; clever posters; yelling; support. Closing costumed performance. Police. On the way back, Luffy. Ten thirty pm. Crowd, walk, crowd, streets, subway, home.