1 Nov 96 
 
So it's All Saints Day, and I can't remember if it's a holy day of  
obligation (meaning I have to go to Mass).  At the same time of daily mass  
is a student colloquium on defects in liquid crystals, and I can't figure  
out which one I should go to. 
 
The Lower Manhattan Halloween Parade (it went up too far north for me to  
call it a Greenwich Village parade) was very interesting at parts.  Lots  
of stilt-walkers (to the delight of us short people) and over-sized  
puppets, a sprinkling of drag queens, three huge Cruella de Ville &  
Dalmations numbers, a "Presidential" caravan, a "funeral" for Bob Dole, a  
pipes & drums band, some drunk-sounding Dixieland Jazz bands, lots of  
percussion groups, some community gardening collective (get the plant  
people!), many costumed people flying by on roller blades, and just the  
generic smattering of random people from New York in costume.  Anyone who  
showed up at 6 pm could have been in the parade.  _I_ could have been in  
the parade, I was a very convincing Pippi Longstocking (but my hair has  
yet to recover.  Next time I do something like this, I'm getting a wig).   
Only one person misidentified me as Punky Brewster. 
 
A short sentence about the tyranny of tall people: they always stand in  
front of me.  Any person 5'10" or taller should have no problem seeing  
over my head, even if I get up on my toes.  Let me in, dammit!