power_tournamentofCooperation.htm

When I was 9 years old, my parents chose to participate in the great American opportunity by immigrating to the US from Israel. Since the uncle who sponsored us to come here lived in Oklahoma, we settled in Tulsa.

The summers there were hot and humid. The winters were cold and snowy. Every New Year's Day, it was a family tradition to watch the Tournament of Roses Parade on television.

Taking place in Pasadena, California, the parade was a magnificent spectacle of flower-covered floats, bands, equestrian units and a dose of patriotism. It also did a great job of showing the bright sunshine, blue skies and green palm trees that exemplify Southern California.

I'd watch that parade every year and vowed that one day I would do something about my desire to live in that climate. How many times have you watched life's parade passing by and vowed that one day you would take action on an important goal?

It was in 1985 that I finally took action by moving to San Diego. And every New Year's Day I kept watching that amazing world spectacle known as the Rose Parade on television.

Every year I thought that someday I'd like to go and see that parade in person. Benjamin Franklin said that the word "someday" is equivalent to failure. Be careful how you use that word. It is closely tied to "observer" rather than "participant."

In the fall of last year, my girlfriend and I decided to become participants in this goal. We made a few calls and quickly identified the Pasadena company that sells tickets for seats in the grandstands that line the Rose Parade route.

Amazingly, it was not that expensive to purchase two reserved seats in the large viewing stand at the beginning of the parade route. That's where the television networks position their cameras. Nearby reserved parking and a program were part of the deal.

The months passed quickly and suddenly it was New Year's Eve. Not wanting to drive from San Diego to Pasadena during the night, we had previously reserved a hotel room a few miles from Pasadena.

Excitement mounted as we made our way up the coast that New Year's Eve. After checking into our hotel in Monterey Park, we realized that the early morning traffic into Pasadena would be heavy. Thus, we decided to identify a route to Colorado Boulevard, the famous street of the Rose Parade.

Heading north from our hotel, we finally turned onto Colorado Boulevard. The sight we saw that evening, as we inched through heavy traffic, was unbelievable.

Every inch of the sidewalks, for the 60+ blocks of the parade route, was filled with people. They weren't standing around. Here were tens of thousands of people camping out. There were folding chairs, lawn chairs, air mattresses, portable barbecue grills and lots of blankets.

In order to assure a curbside viewing spot, many had come as much as forty-eight hours ahead of the parade. To ward off the cold nights, some brought portable heaters. There were people of all ages and many nationalities. They were socializing, cooking meals, playing cards and sleeping whenever possible.

We had never seen such a sight before. It was amazing. What was also amazing was the apparent peaceful cooperation among these thousands of people. The police would later report very few arrests for disorderly conduct.

The next morning, New Year's Day, we arose at 5 a.m. and headed for Pasadena. As we passed Colorado Boulevard and headed for our assigned parking garage, the masses of the overnight sidewalk campers seemed to have swelled. However, once again, there were few apparent problems. Instead, we noticed many smiling faces and a fun, festive atmosphere.

Walking from our parking spot to our nearby grandstand seats, we became part of a mass of humanity filling Colorado Boulevard. The crowd estimate for that day's parade was 800,000 people. And yet the underlying tone was great cooperation. The City of Pasadena does itself proud each year as it manages such a large world event.

Situated in our grandstand seats, with the worldwide media coverage at our location, the Rose Parade began promptly at 8 a.m. The first of numerous patriotic moments occurred soon as the Air Force Band marched by. At the same time, on cue, three Air Force jets did a low-level fly over.

The jet in the center was the unusually shaped Stealth Bomber. You could literally feel thousands of people getting goose bumps of awe and patriotic pride as those jets made a complete parade route pass, turned and flew back over Colorado Boulevard.

There were forty-nine incredible floats, many bands and numerous equestrian units in the parade. It's one thing to see the Rose Parade on television as an observer. It's a whole different world to see it in person as a participant.

As the parade concluded, 800,000 people dispersed in an orderly, co-operative fashion. Of the various positive lessons from the day, the one about massive cooperation led the parade.

Is there more that you can do in your life to promote cooperation? Perhaps that could help you become more of a participant in life. Time moves quickly. If not you, who? If not now, when?

An Affirmation of Cooperation

I promote cooperation wherever I go. I participate in the great adventure that is life.