Rain on my parade

Flirtatious: "Can I buy you a drink? Oh, I forgot. It's Sunday. How about a cup of coffee?"

Real Mood: Modestly Miffed

Prediction: Either Texas or USC will be BCS champions. You're going to have a wait a few days to find out.

"Never on a Sunday," is sung by a fictional hooker who, by her own rules and choice, decides Sunday will be a day of rest.  Now that makes sense.

But not everything having to do with Sunday choices  makes sense.

When I was working in Kansas there were all kinds of dangling liquor laws that were (in my mind) kind of silly. I say dangling because I don't think the majority of Kansans in the latter half of the 20th century expected them to still be around.

Vern Miller, the Attorney General at the time, was having a lot of fun with those laws.  He was personally hiding in car trunks and and popping out at critical moments to arrest people. I can't remember whether it was threat or reality, but I know he WANTED to arrest people drinking on airplanes on Sunday while flying over Kansas. Those were interesting times since the Governor in those years? He was known to enjoy an occassional stimulating imbibement. ( I think one the exciting things about BLOGGING is the unfettered opportunity to experiment with word form invention) Anytime someone tells you Kansas is boring, send them to me.  I've got some stories for you.

Okay, on to other Blue Laws.  Here in this state, Colorado,  you can go to a bar on Sunday, drink to and past your body's capacity. If nobody catches you? You can drive home.  But you cannot  walk into a liquor store and buy a beer you could safely drink at home. I don't get it. I don't think most people get it. And then you go to the Grocery store  where it's illegal to sell alchoholic beverages of full potentcy. But you can buy what they have (3.2 percent alcohol conent on the beer), even on Sunday. That just means you need to drink more volume to get the same affect.  None of this makes any sense. But no one seems brave enough to challenge a Blue Law.  Point Coming!

I know a lot of people who live in Pasadena, California. (There's Tanya, who has lived there forever. There's Casey who just moved there. And there's a whole bunch in between.) Maybe a tenth of them regularly attend a house of worship on Sunday. Okay, here it comes.

Not paying the appropriate amount of attention, I wake up this Sunday morning, January 1st, preparing to do what I do every January 1st.  What's that?

PEGGY AND I HIT THE REMOTE BUTTON THAT WILL PULL UP THE ROSE PARADE. Then we hear the promo on HGTV.

"Looking for the Rose Parade?  Well it's going to be tommorrow, January 2nd, right here on the Garden Channel."

Huh? Peggy and I launch into our own speculation.

Peggy:

"Well, since Monday's a holiday, maybe they need to save a few bowl games and THE PARADE so people will have something to do."

Paul:

"Maybe since they moved the Rose Bowl  game to Wednesday...?"

Peggy:

"Wait a Pasadena minute here. They moved the Rose Bowl to January Fourth? Why for God's sake?"

Paul:

"No, God had nothing to do with it. It has something to do with the BCS, and the National Championship, and the NCAA."

Peggy:

"What in heaven's name is the BCS?"

Paul:

"You don't want to know."

But we both still want to know why the parade ISN'T being marched on January first.  So Peggy calls her California daughter Rhonda, and her California sister Nancy who help us fill in the blanks. (Nancy practically lives on the parade route.)  

Here's what we learned. Many of you may already know this, but it's going to be fun writing it anyway.  Pasadena has an ordinance that says there can be no large gatherings of people on Sunday, in town, unless it's a church gathering. 

Ever been on the Pasadena freeway, or the 210 freeway on a Sunday? Now those are some gatherings. And from the language I'm hearing from the road rage, these folks arn't likely headed for church. Let's get Vern Miller out there to arrest them all.

While often in sympathy with their cause, I'm no Libertarian.  I believe we have common interests and therefore should have some common laws. But I am a clear opponent of any law that smacks of "Holier than Thou."

Pasadena, you are being stupid!

NCAA, you are being stupid!

Baby boomers who are the economic power base of this country, want the Rose Bowl game played on January first.

Now Peggy likes watching football.  I like to listen to the parade bands. But I don't think we're typical.  I know it's a bit of "throw back sexism," but you 20 something decision makers need to know this about baby boomers.  Most men get up on Januaryfirst and watch their Significant Other watch the parade? Then the Significant Other politely watches HIM watch the game. That's just the way it is. You can't just yank those things out from under a powerful generation without ample warning. And do it because of some Arcane ordinance written by a church deacon on 1880?  ( I made that up.)

Let's face it. The NCAA is just too big to fight.  But I think we can make a real statement to Pasadena by threatening to move the Parade to Encino.

We have a friend, Duane Laursen, who does rope tricks during the parade every year.   It's raining so hard this year I doubt we'll get to see him. But that reminds me of just how big a deal this is for a lot of people.  The Rose Parade was where, if you were lucky, you got lassoed by Monte Montana as he rode by on his horse.  It's a event that stays with you for life.

So NCAA and Pasadena. Are you looking for a sign from a Supreme Being? It hasn't rained on your parade in more than 50 years. Hmmm! If fewer of us baby boomers decide to watch the game on Wednesday?  Could that affect the TV fees paid to the colleges?

Maybe it's time to say what needs to be said about these decisions. I think we can do that by just taking the 'C' out of 'BCS.'

Paul:

"Parade's over. Now what do I do?"

Peggy:

"Well, you could always watch....."

Paul:

"I could care less about the Sugar Bowl."