20 April 2002 ~ The Creature Parade and other weirdly occurrences...

Had a weirdly wonderful day and came home to find that the world has fallen apart. Not in a BAD way, necessarily... But in a very weird synchronistic way... Just... a bunch of things I never imagined possible happened, pretty much all at once; Peter refered to me as his "ex" in his online journal, which just about gave me a coronary; there was an EARTHQUAKE in the Adirondacks (I'm in New York, and the earthquakes are in Washington; I'm in Washington, and the earthquakes are in New York... what the hell?); the lead singer of Alice in Chains is dead... Dude... what the hell else can happen!?

I think I killed the guy from Alice in Chains. I mean, not on purpose or anything; I used to fucking LOVE Alice in Chains. I still do, come to think of it. But remember: I was having a Stanley Kubrick marathon the night he died. I'd written a commentary making fun of Dale Earnhardt just a wekk or two before HE died. And, not having spoken of Alice in Chains in probably two years or more, I was talking about the lead singer JUST this week. I swear I'm a killer. I don't MEAN to be a killer.

Anyway... aside from all THAT...

Today was the second day of the Olympia Arts Festival. There was much singing, clapping, and merry-making. There was also... The Creature Parade.

What, Helena, is a Creature Parade?

The Procession of the Species, or, as I like to call it, the Creature Parade, is when like, 30% of the population of Olympia, Washington makes a costume resembling an animal, and marches down the streets of downtown, and the other 70%, plus ALL of the inhabitants of Shelton, and Lacey, and all those little towns, gather to watch.

I have NEVER seen that many people at a parade anywhere, not even the Binghamton Saint Patrick's Day parade.

And WHO the fuck thought up this idea: "Gee, guys, wouldn't it be great if, like, lots of people dressed up like animals and marched down the street on the 20th of April?" Whoever thought that up, and then actually got it to WORK -- AND got people to COME to it -- deserves a medal and a big slimy kiss. Yes, it was bizarre; REALLY bizarre. But it was also one of the most beautiful and creative things I have EVER seen.

There was not ONE banner proclaiming "Miss Cindy's School of Dance," or "Olympia High School," or "Ancient Order of Hibernians." Everybody just wore a costume; there was no further need for self-promotion. And everybody wore a big smile. I didn't even hear any kids whining. I swear it, there were NO KIDS WHINING.

It's been a WEIRD fucking day.

I'm going to go wander around now and see if I can find some more weird events to partake of.

Oh yeah, and happy 4-20, everybody. Remember: safety first.

~Helena*