Rose Bowl Parade Float Fact NOT Mentioned...

What fascinates me about the Rose Bowl Parade is that for weeks on end, volunteers from all around spend countless hours creating those floats with all natural materials! Flowers, seeds, branches, moss, bark, leaves ... whatever they can think of that is natural and will fit the bill ... then it is in! That parade is one of the most famous parades in all the country, so amazing in fact that for a week after New Year's you can go to Pasadena and see the floats in all their glory! (Great for those that do not want to fight the crowds but are still interested in seeing the beauty.) I love that parade and do my best to watch every year.

This year, in particular, I wanted to see the Lindberg High School Marching Band from St. Louis and the tribute to 9-11 float. The marching band is from my hometown and I know many people who went to that school so that was a joy to see. The other float there is a really amazing reason why I wanted to see it, but was disappointed that the commentators did NOT explain what extraordinary measures the volunteers went to for this float. Since they skipped over one of the most touching stories that I heard all year. (...get it? Year? It is just the 1st! I crack myself up sometimes!)

The float represented the fact that this year will mark the 10th anniversary of 9-11, a tragic day in our American History. The float was broken into three parts. The first section of the float was all about Flight 93, honoring all those who died on the Pennsylvania field that day in order to save perhaps countless more on the ground. The second section honored The Pentagon and all those souls who were surprised by the hatred of others that fateful day. The third section honored all of the countless souls who were at the Twin Towers: the firefighters, the EMTs, the Police Officers, the workers of both buildings and many more on the ground who were killed in the name of terrorism. It was thought up by a group of volunteer firefighters and also some retired firefighters here in the Los Angeles area.

Now, what I did not hear during the parade that I found out a couple of nights before was something that I think is very touching, moving, and so respectful that I am surprised that they did not tell the folks watching at home. On that float, there were 3,000+ names written on flower petals. Each section of the float, Flight 93 ... The Pentagon ... The Twin Towers ... had the names of those that lost their lives hand written on the petals of the flowers. I thought that was amazing! What a simple thing to do. What a personal way of memorializing all the people who died in the events of that day. What an incredible group of volunteers that came up with that idea. Kudos to all of them for helping honor over 3,000 people who did nothing wrong but be where they were that day. I just wanted all of you to know that fact, because it shows that people are not forgotten.

May you all have a wonderfully prosperious New Year filled with health, love, and of course true happiness!!