Musings re Sonic (Wednesday's Wisdom)

Yesterday I announced that an article of mine re the 2019 Macy's Thanksgiving Parade participants had been published by iLovetheUpperWestside.com on November tenth.

A few days after my article appeared the new look of Sonic The Hedgehog was trending on Twitter and I recalled (in a tweet and on Facebook) how I loved seeing "old" Sonic in the 2012 (first two photos included atop this entry) as well as in the 2013 Parade (featured in the photos directly below).

I will miss the character in this year's event but I'm willing to bet that because of the 2020 movie, Sonic will be in next year's parade and that is my wisdom for this Wednesday.

REMEMBER It's Hedge Hog Day Too!

Before this morning comes to an end, it would be remiss of me to not write about the fact that in addition to it being Groundhog Day (as I mentioned earlier this morning in two posts here on Blogger), today is also known as National Hedge Hog Day.

According to many sources, including Non-Stop Celebrations, "Hedgehog Day dates all the way back to the Romans. They looked to see if a hedgehog saw his shadow in the moonlight. If so, he’d return to his burrow and winter would hold on for six more weeks. And in Europe the tradition of Candlemas included the belief that a sunny Candlemas meant winter would linger. A cloudy day heralded the arrival of spring. At some point the Romans brought their beliefs to Europe and the beliefs melded into watching the hedgehog emerge from hibernation during the day. On a sunny day he would see his shadow and there’d be six more weeks of winter."

They go on to proclaim that "Hedgehogs are resourceful. They are covered with stiff, hollow hairs they use to defend themselves. When they sense danger they roll into a ball so that their hairs stick out like spines, causing pain to anyone silly enough to touch.

They have an amazing sense of smell and can find food buried under an inch of soil. They often prefer to travel and look for food at night. That may be why the Romans preferred moonlight over sunlight to check for the hedgehog’s shadow."

Moreover, they state, that February the second "is also the release date for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, way back in 1994." 

In honor of Hedge Hog Day and Sonic, I've posted an image of a Macy's Ballon that is rendered in her likeness atop this entry. In this picture Sonic is making her way down Central Park West as she participates in a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

In North America, there are no native species of hedgehog, so the animal as a weather predictor has been replaced with the native groundhog. However, in my home these creatures are honored by being represented by figurines.

So after you are done celebrating the groundhog's prediction on this day, why not take a moment or two to learn about hedgehogs, the forerunners of this holiday?

News About SONIC!

Sonic, the hedgehog can be seen here, in a photo from bygone years where she is racing along the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade route!

And to think I nearly forgot that February 2nd's holiday of ‪#‎GroundhogDay‬ was Sonic's day too! She shares this day with a groundhog because the animal type she represents was the first ever to be given the task of predicting the onset of spring!

I spoke about this on Fb earlier this week.

But Sonic has other things to celebrate besides the commonality of hedgehogs and groundhogs serving as predictors of the onset of spring! 

Sonic the Hedgehog's media presence occurred on February 2nd, albeit a number of years ago, and this ultimately led to her likeness being rendered into a Macy's balloon!

Change of Heart?

(Note the "scratches" you may think you are seeing are strings supporting "Bob")

It seems Sponge Bob (pictured above) was as surprised to see me as I was to see him yesterday morning, a "mild" one (weather wise) for Thanksgiving! For on this particular holiday, in bygone years in New York City, where I live, weather conditions have often been either rainy or windy or both, not exactly a "comfortable" atmosphere for a parade — especially one so huge as the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Sponge Bob is one of the participants in the parade, and since I have not watched television since the 1980's, I don't know much about him. I'm more familiar with good ol' Charlie Brown, the beloved Charles Schulz character who is pictured below, where he can be seen "marching" in yesterday's parade.

(Note the "scratches" you may think you are seeing are strings supporting CB)

Although I now live very close to part of the route of the Macy's Parade, it is an event that I prefer not to make an effort to attend, as the crowds are often massive, as well as aggressive. 

Be that as it may, one of the first times I made an effort to go to the parade was when my grandmother's sister (and hence my great aunt) Ruth came to New York City to visit me. 

The time period was during one of my first few years of living in Manhattan, and during those years I was living in a rooming house (or SRO as "we" refer to them in the city). It was a miserable place to live, but I managed to procure a room for Ruth, and she insisted we navigate the crowds to travel and to see the parade — even though it was very windy and rain was pouring down.