Literally: Don't Let That Parade Pass You By!

Step, step, step... I just keep marching on to the beat of my new drum and I continue to feel good about this entire journey. Attitude - of course - is key.

Over the years, if my attitude needed some adjusting, I'd just try to go out and create events or challenges to bring an infusion of positive people and their energy into my life. It's actually very easy to do. You just set a goal; assess what needs to get done to achieve that goal; map out a step-by-step plan; and execute on that plan.

In my Kate's 2007 high school yearbook, I dedicated a number of quotes to her and one of them read, "Stay positive and remember that you're never too old to ride on a motorized parade float." For more than thirty-years, I had so much fun creating floats with the help of artistic and talented cousins and assorted family members!

Thanks to a gentle giant by the name of Connie Vucola (May he rest in peace...), who was my beloved friend with the motorized flatbeds that made these special chapters of my life possible - we lit up the town with laughter, balloons, Disney characters, music, kids and friends as "his" trucks led parades for the Lion's Club Inner Tube Races, School Spirit Days, and the Pt. Pleasant Halloween and Memorial Day Parades.

When Kate was eleven years old and Scott was 7, it was clear to me that my kids - like most kids - view the expressions on their parent's faces as a window into how they should respond to any number of issues. I know this will sound crazy, but 14 days before one of my surgeries, I forced the biggest smile I could summon and laughed hysterically as I let the kids tie me into a living room chair and put me on top of our 101 Dalmatians "Who Let the Dogs Out" motorized float which was featured in the Pt. Pleasant Halloween Parade!

As the song, "Who Let the Dogs Out" played, Kate waved to the crowds lining the parade route posing as a beautiful Cruella Deville seeking to be adored by all who observed her stunning silouette on flatbed truck #1. My job was to finish the theme on flatbed truck #2 as the bad and ugly Cruella who had been tied up by my Scott and the 100 other Dalmatians who, as the Disney story goes, enjoyed the last laugh at Cruella’s expense after she tried to kidnap them! Ninety kids - of all ages - on three trucks and dressed as dogs and dog catchers rode with us on our family float that day! It was so much fun!

I came up with the idea to actually tie myself to the float because doctors had just confirmed that my vagus nerve in the parasympathetic system - the system that influences heart rate and blood pressure - was in trouble. The condition, called vasovagel sydrome and which is easily diagnosed with a simple Tilt Test, was brought on when the vagus nerve became "somehow" activated, producing a sudden dilation of blood vessels, which then caused a dramatic drop in blood pressure in seconds. When this symptom presented itself, I'd black out for a few seconds and that fact had put me out of work on disability and restricted me from driving while the good doctors did their research. It had been a tough six months, but if I could stay safely tied to the flatbed truck, there was no reason to back out of the parade, right?

You see, I knew exactly what I was doing that day when I purposely reached inside myself to produce a powerful visual the kids could not ignore. In my grey & black wig and black boots I was literally tied to that float wearing my mother's fur coat and pearls to prove to Kate and Scott that sitting this glorious annual event out was not an option for me or them. In the end, our motorized float won every category and laughter prevailed!!! It was a great day.

An attitude altered by fear of the unknown should never be the sole reason you let a parade pass you by.

Best regards,
Everybody's Cousin Tish
Score: 13/51

Quote of the Day: "Don't wait for moments to come; create them by using your own energy, creativity and enthusiasm."
- Kate's Mom, 2007