Obet Armada ‘missed’ the Comelec deadline

“Sometimes it's the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” -- Drake

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Former Iloilo Vice Governor Roberto “Obet” Armada arrived in the Philippines on November 29, 2018 night from a one-month “spiritual journey” in the United States, thus he wasn’t able to “beat the deadline” for the last day of substitution and withdrawal set by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for the May 2019 elections.
Even if the now 54-year-old life insurance executive was able to land in Manila earlier, he still wouldn’t file his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for congressman in the third district of Iloilo as replacement for candidate Emmanuel “Manny” Gallar contrary to the expectations of Armada’s supporters.
Board member and former Bombo Radyo Iloilo anchorman Gallar will now face fellow board member Lorenz Defensor, son of Iloilo Governor Arthur “Art” Defensor Sr.
Political leaders and supporters wanted Armada to run against Defensor instead of Gallar who was mistaken as only a “token” candidate.
They believed that Armada “would have strong chances compared to Gallar as he still has vast and solid followers and supporters particularly in Cabatuan, Janiuay, Lambunao, Pototan, Badiangan, Mina, Calinog, and Maasin.”

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Did he intentionally “escape” to the United States and wait for the Comelec deadline for substitution and withdrawal to pass before coming home?
“No,” was Armada’s quick answer when I asked him point-blank during our meeting at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn on November 14, 2018, where he was accompanied by his Staten Island-based brother, Nestor, a retired industrial engineer and scientist.
“I have decided with finality not to join in politics again next year,” confirmed Armada, who was sworn as Iloilo governor by Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary (DILG) Secretary Ronaldo Puno during the “Capitol siege” on January 17, 2007.
When I asked him “how about after 2019?” He just smiled.
He went to the United States “not to escape the heat of political climate in Iloilo,” he swore, but “to find closure in this chapter of my life.”
A devout Catholic, Armada went to San Juan Capistrano Church in San Juan Capistrano in the Orange County, California on November 19th.

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It was there where Armada’s late “Mommy Thelma” heard mass on July 2, 2006.
“It was a beautiful Sunday. The sunny but cool California weather was an ideal time to be outdoors. The place was meaningful to her ... and my Dad. This was where she spent the last couple of hours of her life on that fateful day,” narrated Armada.
“I took the road where she traveled from the church and the time Zach, my Nephew who lives in the neighboring area of Rancho Palos Verdes, noticed that she was more than just sleeping at the backseat of the car.
The Journey for me was painful. But I'm glad that, at last, I will be able to find closure in this chapter of my life.”
The former vice governor, who had also served as vice mayor of Janiuay town in Iloilo, added: “It took me more than a decade to muster the strength to confront and reconcile with this ‘Tragedy!’ I know I was not an ideal son to her, perhaps by any standard I was way below being good. But I have done, in the last score of her life, what I could possibly do to make her happy, however short, when she was alive and well. I hope I have given her, with what I have become, the pride and honor she truly deserved. I hope.”

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Armada’s US trip was all dedicated to frolicking and visiting America’s historical and spiritual hubs from the East to the West Coast.
He also went into a pilgrimage in Philadelphia on November 17th and visited the chapel where the incorrupted body of St. John Neumann was placed in a glass.
Armada recalled that “Neuman died over a century ago. When his body was exhumed recently (30-40 years ago) it remained intact. He was the Archbishop of Philadelphia and made a lot of contribution in evangelizing most of the East Coast States. Coincidentally, he belonged to the Redemptorists (C.S.s.R.) Order. The 5th Saint along with Sts. Patrick, Alphonsus, Gerard and our school's Patron Saint, St.Clement.”

Chess is like Philippine politics

“Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules and take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.”
--Garry Kasparov

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The political combat in the Philippines can sometimes be compared to chess.
Both camps believe they will win and they will never entertain the possibility of losing.
They will lose only if they are “cheated”.
A defeat for most of them is a misnomer.
They run to win, not to lose.
In politics, however, there is no draw.
One must win and another must lose.
In chess, victory is achieved sometimes in a tie-break or after the full regular match like in the best-of-12-games format of the just-concluded FIDE World Championship in London.

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I made a mistake when I posted on social media that “I have the gut feeling that the world will have a new world chess champion tomorrow (Wednesday, November 28, 2018)” several hours before the start of the FIDE World Chess Championship tie-breakers between defending champion Magnus Carlsen and Italian-American challenger Fabiano Caruana in London, which finally ended with the Norwegian world No. 1 retaining his title.
My “gut feeling” erred, this time.
Caruana, who would have been the first American world champion since Bobby Fischer won in 1972, lost to Carlsen in three time-limited games.
Carlsen, who has won the championship three times before and was the favorite to win the game, took a two-match lead and needed only a draw in the third tie-breaker to seal his victory.

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My basis for picking Caruana in the tie-break was when Carlsen offered a draw in their last match prior to the tie-breakers which many experts, including former world champion Garry Kasparov, believed was a winning game.
They suspected that Carlsen was panicking and losing his nerves after the title match ended in deadlock at 6-all after 12 draws during the regular best-of-12 tussle.
It made Kasparov wondered in his Twit: “In light of this shocking draw offer from Magnus in a superior position with more time, I reconsider my evaluation of him being the favorite in rapids. Tiebreaks require tremendous nerves and he seems to be losing his.”
In the wild and oscillating Game 12, Carlsen, with the black pieces, and Caruana, with the white, began with the Sveshnikov Sicilian, just as they had in Game 8 and Game 10.

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“Carlsen was the first to deviate from the earlier contests, perhaps a stratagem to take Caruana out of his seemingly excellent preparation for the championship, and to angle for a decisive result at last,” reported The Guardian. “By the 12th move, the two were in uncharted territory, looking at a board that that no two people had created before at this level of chess.1”
After Carlsen’s victory, Kasparov Twitted anew, this time in a different tune: “Carlsen’s consistent level of play in rapid chess is phenomenal. We all play worse as we play faster and faster, but his ratio may be the smallest ever, perhaps only a 15% drop off. Huge advantage in this format.”

‘Protect yourselves at all times’

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.”
--Albert Einstein

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY --Now that the riding-in-tandem’s reign of terror has remained unabated in the Philippines, active cops and former colleagues of slain retired Iloilo City policeman Ronaldo “Apple” Alag in the Philippines included in the narco list of President Rodrigo R. Duterte should not let their guards down.
Even politicians, lawyers, judges, journalists, housewives, teachers, sidewalk vendors, and other civilians are not exempted from a man-made horror and terror.
As we tell the boxers before the start of a boxing bout, “protect yourselves as all times.”
There is no guarantee that the liquidation squad won’t strike anew.
There have been scores of characters linked to illegal drugs waylaid and executed by the notorious motorcycle-riding gunmen, but not a single assailant has been arrested or identified.

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Except in the case of PO2 Dorben “Benjo Acap of the PNP Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (RPHAU) based in Camp Delgado in Iloilo City, who survived an ambush attempt in Sitio Pajo, Brgy. Dulonan, Arevalo District on June 26, 2018 and managed to fire back and hit his shooter, PO2 Melvin Mocorro, all other crimes committed by the riding-in-tandem murderers have remained unsolved.
Even if Mocorro had been collared and charged in court, no one was expecting him to go to jail for Acap’s foiled murder.
Many people suspect Mocorro’s superiors will make sure he will be “off the hook.”
We remember that among those mentioned by President Duterte in his “narco list” were retired Iloilo cops Elvis Donasco and Remy Donasco.
The Donasco brothers have denied any involvement in any illegal activities, including drug trafficking.
They also denied they were protectors of drug traffickers operating in Western Visayas.
If the charges against all the suspects are based on falsehood and erratic intelligence data, they shouldn’t be harmed even with a ten-foot pole.
If the reports are accurate, file charges against them in court so they can defend themselves.
A big no to summary execution.

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The Donasco brothers and other characters in the president’s “narco list” could be victims of jealousy and envy.
Unless the “intelligence” reports reaching President Duterte have been verified and substantiated, it’s not fair to eternally attach their names to unlawful activities.
Like all victims of extra-judicial killings (EJK), all other suspects should be given their day in court.
Just the same. They should not trust anyone who ride not just in motorcycle but also in cabs and even private cars who approach them or roaming around their neighborhood.
It’s better to be prepared and alert all the time than sorry.
With the climate of fear and impunity hovering around the horizon, it isn’t safe for anyone to trust anybody not part of our household.
Even some of our colleagues will sometimes kiss us like Judas to ensure our downfall and imminent death.

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The boring FIDE world chess championship tussle between champion Magnus Carlsen and American challenger Fabiano Caruana in London will finally be decided in a tie-breaker on November 28, 2018.
Carlsen will play with the white pieces in the first game of rapid play-off after the drawing of lots is conducted.
The format will be: Best of four rapid games with 25 minutes for each player with an increment of 10 seconds after each move.
If still tied, they will play up to five mini-matches of two blitz games (five minutes for each player with a three-second increment).
If all five mini-matches are drawn, one sudden-death ‘Armageddon’ match will be played where White receives five minutes and Black receives four minutes. Both players will receive a three-second increment after the 60th move. In the case of a draw, Black will be declared the winner.
I won’t be surprised if on Wednesday, a new world chess champion will be crowned.

Burn the house, kill the rats, or transfer?

“I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion.”
--Jack Kerouac

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The sudden appearance of placard-bearing “pro-Panay Electric Company (PECO)” rallysts at the Plaza Libertad in Iloilo City in the Philippines showing support for the PECO and opposing the entry of PECO’s rival, More Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), on November 26, 2018, has raised so many eyebrows.
Who wouldn’t be surprised?
It’s like seeing the remnants of holocaust victims petitioning the Vatican to declare Hitler as a saint.
Who were these Plaza Libertad pro-PECO protesters?
Where did they come from?
Who organized them?
We didn’t know there were Ilonggo power consumers willing to risk their lives, limbs, and reputations for the much-maligned PECO.
We didn’t know--until those placard-toting ragtag individuals displayed their fangs and sought to influence the authorities--that the PECO has a fan club.

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Do they have social activities other than showing canine loyalty to the PECO?
Do they hold a regular meeting?
When was the “fan club” founded?
Just curious.
PECO, which is asking Congress to renew its franchise set to expire on January 19, 2019, became so unpopular because of its alleged poor services, its being insensitive to their plight, negligence, astronomical bills, dilapidated meters and lamp posts, among other serious shortcomings.
For nearly 100 years, PECO has served Iloilo City consumers, but its litany of sins to the vexed and impatient consumers is also as old as its age and apathy.
When one walks in a village in Iloilo City today, seldom can you find a resident, a power consumer, who won’t spew a vitriol against the PECO, much less refuse to say derogatory words against the PECO if asked whether he is satisfied with the power firm’s services.

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For most Ilonggos, PECO is now like Mary Magdalene, cursed and condemned; and about to be stoned.
PECO needs a Christ to protect it from stone throwers, and it is hoping Congress will act as the miracle man who will admonish PECO’s tormentors.
PECO also needs that miracle man to help it obtain a 25-year franchise extension now slumbering in the House committee level.
Thus it’s inconceivable that a faction of consumers was defending PECO and holding a rally just as MORE Power was wooing the city aldermen who were holding a regular session in the adjacent Sangguniang Panlungsod.
Where were those angry (that MORE power will enter and operate in Iloilo City) rallysts when thousands of (their fellow) Ilonggo consumers were crying for justice against PECO’s alleged injustices to other anti-PECO faction?
We find it bizarre that they didn’t hold a similar rally or noise to compel PECO to honor its obligation to the paying public, stop making life difficult for the consumers, provide them with adequate and better services, and modernize.

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Since the pro-PECO rallysts were also power consumers, weren’t they affected by PECO’s purported abysmal services like what the majority of the consumers have been enduring?
There are two schools of thoughts in the pro-PECO rallysts’ petition to block another power firm that promises to provide better services, manpower and equipment to the benighted Ilonggos consumers for fear that the company “has zero experience in the power distribution industry” and might only “plunge Iloilo City into darkness.”
One, they would rather want the rat-infested house to remain standing and hope that the authorities will kill the rats even if the owner won’t initiate the killing spree.
Second, they are willing to live with the rats, for the time being, as long as the authorities won’t burn the entire house and wait for authorities to lower the boom on the owner even if he is doing nothing and, in fact, allowing the rats to reign supreme.
For a regular Ilonggo consumer fed up with what’s going on, he doesn’t give a hoot whether the rats are killed or the house is totally burned.
He only wants to transfer his residence.

Ilonggos produce the best Philippine leaders

“The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.” 

--HENRY A. KISSINGER

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY --Before we further insult Ilonggo history and culture by electing more mediocre and incompetent leaders into public office, we must always remember that Iloilo was once the chief producer of the country’s quality leaders, legislators, and even diplomats.
This was the era when the electoral system was not yet impaired, when leaders were chosen based on their competence and qualifications, when political zarzuela wasn’t yet at fever-pitched.
Good leaders elected even without the help of deceptive and confusing propaganda machine that blurred the demarcation line between reel and real world, when chaffs were separated from the grains.
We had Amado Avanceña (Iloilo first district), Nicolas Jalandoni (Iloilo second district), Salvador Laguda (Iloilo third district), Adriano Hernandez (Iloilo fourth district) and Regino Dorillo (Iloilo fifth district) as our first representatives in the Philippine legislative body in 1907.
A pride of Molo, Avanceña became governor of Iloilo.
The first Speaker pro tempore in history and the youngest in the first Philippine legislature was Nicolas Jalandoni of Jaro.
The famous general of the Revolution was Adriano Hernandez of Dingle, Iloilo who became the first secretary of agriculture.
During the first world war, he was the commander of the Second Regiment of the Philippine National Guard. He would have been sent to Germany during the first World War.

BROTHERS

The famed Evangelista brothers — Daniel and Jose, simultaneously represented the fourth district of Iloilo in the Philippine Legislature.
An Ilonggo delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention, Tiburcio Lutero had been assemblyman in third and fourth districts of Iloilo.
Former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo’s grandfather, second district Assemblyman Jose Ma. Arroyo, also became a senator. His brother, Mariano, served as governor.
Senator Ruperto Montinola had served as governor and assemblyman in the second district of Iloilo.
He was also delegate and vice president of the 1935 Constitutional Convention. His daughter, Gloria Montinola Tabiana, became congresswoman.
According to the late lawyer and historian Rex Salvilla, President Manuel Quezon called Montinola “El Coloso del Sur” (Colossus of the South) for being a principled oppositionist.
War time Panay and Romblon Governor Tomas Confesor also was assemblyman in the third district of Iloilo and delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention.
Known as the Stormy Petrel in the Legislature, Confesor became senator and the first secretary of commerce and interior and senator. His brother, Assemblyman Patricio, also became governor.
Assemblyman Jose Ma. Lopez Vito Sr. of the second district was governor, justice of the Supreme Court and first chairman of the Commission on Elections. His grandson, Rafael Lopez Vito, became the first congressman of the lone district of Iloilo City.

THREE TOMASES

Salvilla said there was a time when three Ilonggo Tomases served simultaneously in the Legislature – Tomas Confesor of the third district, Tomas Buenaflor of the fourth district and Tomas Vargas of the fifth district.
Confesor later became senator and Vargas governor. A grandson of Buenaflor, Roberto Armada, became a vice governor in 2001.
Congresswoman Gloria Montinola-Tabiana of the third district was the first Ilongga lawmaker.
She succeeded her husband, Ramon C. Tabiana, a second termer. She was a daughter of Senator Ruperto Montinola.
Congressman Ricardo Y. Ladrido of the fourth district was the only dentist lawmaker in Iloilo.
Congressman Pedro G. Trono of the first district was the only pharmacist-doctor legislator in Iloilo. His wife, Lourdes Trono, was delegate to the 1973 Constitutional Convention. Congressman Licurgo Tirador of the third district was delegate to the 1973 Constitutional Convention, governor, mayor and provincial broad member. His father, Federico Tirador, Sr. was assemblyman of the fourth district.
Congressman Jose C. Zulueta of the first district was the President of the Senate. He was also governor.
Fernando Lopez was senator and the only three-termer Vice President of the Philippines, city mayor and secretary of natural resources. His son, Alberto Lopez, was congressman of the second district and daughter-in-law, Emily Lopez, was governor and first congresswoman of Guimaras.
Congressman Oscar Ledesma of the second district was senator, governor and ambassador to the United States. He was one of those who refused to receive his backpay as assemblyman after the war.
Congressman Fermin Caram, Jr. of the second district was the son of Fermin Sr., governor and delegate to the 1973 Constitutional Convention. His daughter-in-law, Tita Caram, was the Iloilo City mayor.
Congressman Pascual Espinosa Sr. of the second district was the only labor leader lawmaker of Iloilo.

MOUNTAIN ROAD

Assemblyman Venancio Cudilla of the fifth district opened northern Iloilo by building the San Nicholas mountain road from Barotac Viejo to Ajuy, added Salvilla.
Before this, people from the northern towns went to Iloilo City by a circuitous route via Roxas City or by sailboat from various ports of Ajuy. Assemblyman Atanacio Ampig of the third district died during the sinking of SS Corregidor in Manila Bay at the outbreak of the war.
Assemblyman Esperidion Guanco of the fourth district became senator. Assemblyman Francisco Villanueva of the second district was a high ranking official of the Estado Federal de Bisayas during the Philippine Revolution and later senator.
With all these Ilonggo greats carving a niche in national politics in the pre-internet epoch, the responsibility rests on our shoulders to elect the most qualified if not the best mayors, governors, congressmen and representatives.
We deserve only the kind of leaders that we elect. 

No ifs. No buts.

Justice for 32 journalists massacred in Maguindanao

STATEMENT ALTERMIDYA--PEOPLE'S ALTERNATIVE MEDIA NETWORK
Reference: Prof. Luis V. Teodoro, National Chairperson

NINE YEARS: WE REFUSE TO FORGET

NINE YEARS. Three administrations. Yet justice has remained elusive for all the victims of the bloody Ampatuan massacre where 58 people, 32 of whom were journalists, were killed in Ampatuan, Maguindanao province in what is considered as the worst election-related massacre in Philippine history.
Branch 22 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has concluded the trial of the primary suspects and is expected to release by early next year its verdict on the multiple murder cases against Andal “Datu Unsay” Ampatuan Jr. and other members of the Ampatuan clan. 

This is indeed a development that many have been waiting for. But it also reminds us all how glacial the pace of the so-called justice system has been: after almost a decade, what was once thought to be the trial of the century is only now being partly concluded, while the trial of more than a hundred other accused is still ongoing.
Past developments insult the memory of those killed in the Massacre, among which certainly belongs the court’s allowing one of the prime suspects, former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, to attend his daughter’s wedding last August, and Datu Sajid Islam Ampatuan’s being out on bail together with ten others accused of involvement in the crime.

Nine years–and the perpetrators think we will forget. They all think that the damage and violence they wrought would now be a fading memory. 

That the blood on their hands will somewhat be cleansed by the passage of time. 

No, we refuse to submit to the reign of impunity by forgetting that justice has not been served to colleagues who have been killed in the line of duty —in the Ampatuan massacre and beyond.
Three administrations have passed, yet instead of dissipating, the killings and attacks against journalists have further intensified. 

The current administration has more than aided and abetted those that seek to harm vanguards of the truth. Under the Duterte administration, at least 99 cases of attacks and threats, both online and offline, have been made against members of the Philippine media. 

Twelve were killed, seven of whom were Mindanao journalists. In general, the killings have surged – doctors, church people, innocent civilians all killed under a worsening climate of impunity.
Impunity—the exemption from punishment of wealthy, powerful and well-connected wrong-doers – is in fact what it is all about. 

And we fear that like Imelda Marcos, who is likely to escape imprisonment despite her conviction on seven counts of graft, those accused of planning and implementing the Ampatuan Massacre will also go scot-free.
Almost a decade after the bloodbath in Maguindanao, the reign of impunity continues to deny its victims the justice they deserve. 

The day of reckoning will surely dawn, and justice will finally be served. 

Until then, we enjoin the Filipino people to never forget–and to combat all attempts to curtail the freedom the Constitution guarantees the press as a potential instrument of change and liberation. 

Until that day comes, our call will always reverberate: we will never forget.

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They are not numbers, nor faceless, nor nameless. The roll of the 32 media victims of the Ampatuan massacre (courtesy of Nonoy Espina):
1. Adolfo, Benjie - Gold Star Daily, Koronadal City
2. Araneta, Henry - Radio DZRH, General Santos City
3. Arriola, Mark Gilbert “Mac-Mac" - UNTV, General Santos City
4. Bataluna, Rubello - Gold Star Daily, Koronadal City
5. Betia, Arturo - Periodico Ini, General Santos City
6. Cabillo, Romeo Jimmy - Midland Review, Tacurong City
7. Cablitas, Marites - News Focus, General Santos City
8. Cachuela, Hannibal - Punto News, Koronadal City
9. Cadagdagon, Jepon - Saksi News. General Santos City.
10. Caniban, John - Periodico Ini, General Santos City
11. Dalmacio, Lea - Socsargen News, General Santos City
12. Decena, Noel - Periodico Ini, General Santos City
13. Dela Cruz, Gina - Saksi News, General Santos City
14. Duhay, Jhoy - Gold Star Daily, Tacurong City
15. Evardo, Jolito - UNTV, General Santos City
16. Gatchalian, Santos - DXGO, Davao City
17. Legarte, Bienvenido, Jr. - Prontiera News, Koronadal City
18. Lupogan, Lindo - Mindanao Daily Gazette, Davao City
19. Maravilla, Ernesto “Bart" - Bombo Radyo, Koronadal City
20. Merisco, Rey - Periodico Ini, Koronadal City
21. Momay, Reynaldo “Bebot" - Midland Review, Tacurong City (still missing)
22. Montaño, Marife “Neneng" - Saksi News, General Santos City
23. Morales, Rosell - News Focus, General Santos City
24. Nuñez, Victor - UNTV, General Santos City
25. Perante, Ronnie - Gold Star Daily correspondent, Koronadal City
26. Parcon, Joel - Prontiera News, Koronadal City
27. Razon, Fernando “Rani" - Periodico Ini, General Santos City
28. Reblando, Alejandro “Bong" - Manila Bulletin, General Santos City
29. Salaysay, Napoleon - Mindanao Gazette, Cotabato City
30. Subang, Ian - Socsargen Today, General Santos City
31. Teodoro, Andres “Andy" - Central Mindanao Inquirer, Tacurong City
32. Tiamson, Daniel - UNTV, General Santos City

Frozen in Manhattan

“Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.”
--Amy Grant

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Excitement and fear of a chilly 27 degrees weather.
This was how I felt when I made it to the Herald Square Park in midtown Manhattan before nine o’clock in the morning on Thursday, the Thanksgiving Day, before the start of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
From the Herald Square Park subway train station where I disembarked from train Q, I hesitated to go out and wanted to cancel the “coverage” because of the chilly weather; but the NYC cops closed all the subway entrances as part of security protocol.
Since it was New York City’s coldest Thanksgiving since 1901, when the temperature only got as high as 26 degrees (-3.3 Celsius), those lining up in the streets, adults and children, “went to war with a full battle gear”: they had thick scarfs, fleece hoods, gloves, boots, coats.
I had a coat and a hood but did not have gloves. The guts.
The coldest on record was in 1871, when the warmest it got was 22 degrees (-5.5 Celsius).
I chose the Avenue of Americas (Sixth Street) area where I had a good view of the coming balloons, floats, marching bands, clowns, and ballonicles.

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After 30 minutes, the frigid air that was hitting the five boroughs, was taking its toll on my body.
It came on a jet stream pattern that went from Siberia, over the North Pole, and down into our area.
The chilly Thanksgiving Day had been expected days earlier although temperatures were originally in the 40s earlier Wednesday, with wind chills in the 30s.
The arctic air brought New Yorkers a brief coating of snow as well.
After more than one hour and the parade was only halfway, my spirit was still willing to sustain the “coverage”, but the body could not.
I was frozen in Manhattan.
I quit, walked to the Bryant Park, and took a subway train 7 in the Grand Central Station going to the Queens.
Projected Thanksgiving high temperatures were 39 degrees in Chicago and 35 in Washington D.C., but some who had decided to head to Boston was expecting 22-degree temperatures. Highs in Los Angeles and Atlanta were in the 60s.

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I didn’t give up actually until I was done waiting for 18 of the 26 much-ballyhooed giant balloons to pass.
They were: Goku, Gleck, Bjorn, Jojo and Hugg, Little Cloud, Sunny the Snow Pal, Americana Spheres, Arrtie the Pirate, Blue and White Macy’s Stars, Charlie Brown, Dino, Greg Heffley, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series, Illumination Presents Dr. Seuss’ the Grench, Jett by Super Wings, Olaf, Paw Patrol, Pikachu, Pillsbury Doughboy, Red Believe Stars, Red and Gold Macy’s Starflakes, Red Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Ronald McDonald, Songebob Squarepants, The Elf on the Shelf, Toothless From How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Trolls, Universal Nutcracker, and Yellow Macy’s Star.
These iconic characters that soared between Manhattan skyscrapers weren’t grounded as announced days before when sustained winds did not exceed 23 mph and gusts did not exceed 34 mph, based on city rules implemented after wind blew a "Cat in the Hat'' balloon into a lamp post in 1997 near the Central Park, critically injuring a woman.
The parade, which featured about 8,000 marchers, including high school bands from across the country, and two-dozen floats culminating with the arrival of Santa Claus, negotiated 46 blocks from the Central Park’s west side to Macy’s flagship store in midtown Manhattan (Herald Square Park).

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The balloon attractions debuted in 1927, inspired by a balloon float. Even then, they were massive--one was a 60-foot dinosaur--and, in those days, they had more to deal with than just high winds and crazy weather: Until 1938, an elevated train ran down Sixth Avenue, according to Mental Floss.
Well-known characters have been part of the parade since that 1927 outing.
Felix the Cat was there from the beginning, and Mickey Mouse joined in 1934, the same year that featured a balloon based on popular entertainer Eddie Cantor.
"Peanuts" characters, especially Snoopy--who made his first appearance in 1968--are regular visitors.
One tradition didn't last long.
The balloons were originally allowed to float away, and those who found them got a gift certificate from Macy's.