A woman sits alone in a darkened living room, watching a holographic parade pass her by. The colorful digital floats include digital people and gigantic digital balloons of animals that no longer exist. As she moves her camera up and down the length of the parade, other viewers wave at her from their living rooms and wish her a happy Thanksgiving.
Her son wanders in and plops down on the couch beside her. “What are we watching?” he asks.
“The 300th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s a tradition.”
“Who’s Macy?”
“Macy’s was something called a department store, back when people used to physically go places to do their shopping.”
“Wasn’t that dangerous?”
“Yes, but they didn’t know that at the time. People used to gather in large groups on the streets in New York City, too, to watch the parade.”
“That’s crazy. And since when are there streets in New York City?”
“Remember that gondola ride we took? That was on what used to be 5th Avenue. Before the water rose up, all those canals used to be streets.”
“Wow. I didn’t know that. Will we be eating soon?”
“Sure, honey. I’m going to show you how people used to cook. And then I’ll show you some holograms of what turkeys used to look like back then. You’ll be shocked.”
“Cool!”
Was I the only one who found the Macy’s parade bittersweet this year?
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The View from a Drawbridge 