Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving from Roosevelt Island - Meet You at Alice's Restaurant And Take A Look At Old Time Macy's Parade Floats


Happy Thanksgiving Day wishes to everyone out there in Roosevelt Island land and elswhere. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Since Thanksgiving is a day all about about Tradition, here is my traditional Thanksgiving Day post - if something can be a tradition having started just in 2007.


In addition to family, great food, the Macy's Parade, Miracle on 34th Street, March of the Wooden Soldiers and football, listening to Arlo Guthrie's rendition of Alice's Restaurant on WNEW-FM was, for me, a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition. A former DJ from the station remembers Thanksgiving and Arlo Guthrie this way on the blog All Mixed Up Radio.
Every year a couple of days before Thanksgiving, it starts. It's slow at first, and then turns into a non-stop avalanche of phone calls. And no matter how many times a station runs promo announcements telling people exactly when it will be played, the calls still come.
"What time are you playing 'Alice's Restaurant?'"
Some of the lyrics:
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant Walk right in it's around the back Just a half a mile from the railroad track You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago on Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the restaurant, but Alice doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in the church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and Fasha the dog. And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of room downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin' all that room, seein' as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn't have to take out their garbage for a long time.
You Tube link to short 2 minute video version above is here. For those of you who want to go back in time and see the full 18 minute version of Alice's Restaurant, You Tube link is here. HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL
Something new for this year. Take a look at some of these Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Floats from 1927 thru 1968 via Buzzfeed.
 Image of 1927 Felix the Cat Macy's Thanksgiving Float From Buzzfeed
Image of 1935 The Marx Brothers Macy'sThanksgiving Float from Buzzfeed

 Image of 1940 The Tin Man Macy's Thanksgiving Float From Buzzfeed
More Macy's Thanksgiving Day Floats from Buzzfeed here. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! 
UPDATE 11/22/12 9:45 AM - Here is live link to streaming of Macy's 2012 Thanksgiving Day Parade.