Why I'm Skipping the Pride Parade

Today is the Chicago Pride Parade.  This is one of the premier pride events in the world; the crowd this year is predicted to be up near 1,000,000.  It’s a colorful and fun-filled day, and everyone should go at least once to such an event.  But I’m skipping it this year, even though the route passes less than a mile from where I live.  The explanation is simple: I’m just getting too old.

I attended my first Pride Parade was when I lived in San Diego.  It was an astonishing event, for this country boy from Oklahoma.  Three things about that first parade stand out.  One is that the superintendent of schools marched in the parade with a group of his gay and lesbian teachers.  Such a thing could never have happened in Oklahoma (probably still doesn’t) and I thought of all the closeted gay teachers back home who would lose their jobs for coming out.  Second were the contingents of police and firefighters marching in the parade, led by the fire chief and the police superintendent.  Again, such a thing was unimaginable back in Oklahoma.  And my third strongest memory of the parade is when we were all walking from the parade to the Pride Festival at Balboa Park: from a hilltop I turned and looked back down the hill and there were hundreds—thousands—of men and women celebrating gay pride, heading in a mass movement to the park.  It was a revelatory moment, and one I’ll never forget.

And then when I moved to Chicago I went to the parade my first few years here—it was a short walk there, after all.  These were much bigger parades, and I didn’t last the entire day (my knees couldn’t take it), but there were several things that stood out at those first parades.  One was that the governor walked the entire length of the parade (as well as many other politicians—but look at the size of the GLBT voting block!).  Again, there were contingents of teachers and firefighters and police.  Many businesses had floats, and all the media outlets had floats.  Gay bars were represented, but so were many organizations, both gay and straight; and many churches are represented also, something perhaps not seen much in Oklahoma and Texas.  Truly, this city turns out in support of equality and fairness.  Last year was the first year for the parade after Illinois joined the states allowing same-sex marriage; not surprisingly, the turnout last year was a record.  But the size of the audience keeps growing.  And judging by what I saw as I walked part of the route this morning heading for my regular Sunday-Morning-Coffee-with-Jack, there are as many straight people as gay, perhaps more.  And many people bring their children, too, both gay and straight couples.  Chicago does love a good parade/party.  And Chicago supports fairness and equality.

But it’s supposed to be 90 degrees today.  And my knees haven’t gotten any better over the years.  So I’ll stay home again today.  I’ve got good memories of the other parades I’ve been too.  And I’ll let the younger set do the celebrating for me.  They deserve it.  Okay, I deserve it too, but they will have to stand in my stead.