David Kronke was appointed Mayor of Television after a bloodless coup in 2000. Since then, he has improved infrastructure, championed greater educational opportunities and fought for reforms that have utterly erased corruption and incompetence from the television industry. Since Mr. Kronke has ascended to power, Television is a far better place. Thanksgiving Day miracles tragedies
Winds and cartoon balloons: They’re part of a Thanksgiving tradition in New York, where the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade can be more dangerous than any full season of “Survivor.”
In 1997, a Cat in the Hat balloon, buffeted by 37-mph winds, careened into a light post, breaking it and injuring four, including one woman who spent a day in a coma and won a multimillion lawsuit against the city. It was the worst tragedy involving the Cat in the Hat until the Mike Myers movie. Other balloons collapsed due to wind gusts, though with far less carnage.
In 1993, a Sonic the Hedgehog balloon collided with a Columbus Circle lamppost, injuring an off-duty police officer.
In 2005, the chaos baton was handed to an M&M balloon, which pretty much did the same thing: It melted into a lamppost, not in your hand, only this time it injured a woman in a wheelchair and her 11-year-old sister. The following year, the city decided that the balloons should hover at far lower levels in order to avoid such high winds, although some argued that balloons should be erased from the mix altogether.
Thursday’s forecast for New York? Warm, with rain expected in the late afternoon. Here’s hoping the “Today” show cast offering voice-overs will be prepared to ad-lib should more anarchy ensue. At any rate, it adds a little drama to a pretty staid event.
Comments
Bizarrely, the woman who was injured by the Cat in the Hat balloon was the owner of the apartment destroyed when New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle crashed his plane into a Manhattan high rise in 2006.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15254176/
Posted by: Debra | November 21, 2007 11:35 AM