There is a new balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning and you must stop whatever you are doing this morning to watch.
It’s Harold, the baseball player balloon, from Miracle on 34th Street, recreated for 2017. In black and white.
Could there be anything more wonderful, more perfect, more … more … well, everything?
It’s a baseball player throwback balloon … in black and white!
Courtesy: Macy’s
Here he is in the 1946 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.
On this Thanksgiving, I hope that you have much to be thankful for.
I do.
Including you. Those of you who stop by here … who comment … who agree that baseball isn’t too slow … who agree that box scores are best read in a newspaper spread out on a table, not on an iPhone (although in a pinch, that iPhone is going to have to do) … who cheer me up when the Orioles lose … you guys are great.
I love that baseball has made us friends. I’m thankful for you!
My dad and I always watched the Macy’s Parade together on TV. It was one of those magical things that we always did together. My dad died 11 years ago – on Thanksgiving Day. But, he would never want me to lose my love of the Macy’s Parade.
So, I need you to do just one thing for me.
Watch for Harold the Baseball Player today with me, would you? He’s the one in black-and-white.
Here’s a little more about new-old Harold.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Baseball Bloggess 
I’ve also heard there is going to be a giant Mr. Met balloon that will gradually deflate as it progressses along the parade route. Happy Thanksgiving!
Awww, poor Mr. Met — you made me laugh out loud! Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
Happy Thanksgiving, Jackie! I have to say that I am immensely grateful for you – one of the truly great gems the internet has given me – and us all!
I’m sorry that I can’t watch the parade along with you (dang non-Canadian holiday), but I’m very happy to have had a sneak peek at glorious Harold. He’s adorable and I would love to have a smaller, snuggle-able version of my own.
Enjoy the parade and have a fantastic Thanksgiving!
And, you are one of my favorite things on the Internet!
(I’m feeling the need to make nanaimo bars for our Thanksgiving feast — to honor my Canadian Ojibwa background. And, we’ll have one in your honor, too!)
Hopefully he isn’t a pitcher. He will only go about half the route.
v
Ha ha, you made me laugh! The good thing is that he only has to travel the parade route once a year … it’s not like we’re asking him to go out there every day. :)
❣⚾️😊 Happy thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving, Renee … to you and the entire Walbert clan! :)
I definitely will keep an eye out for him. Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Kitty Chloe! :)
Oh Jackie..
Of course I will watch with you! Just a few hours tape delayed, courtesy of the networks. And how awesome to bring baseball back in umpteen tall awesomeness!
It’s worth the watch … the black-and-white thing is weirdly wonderful against the clear blue sky and colorful sidewalks!
Happy Thanksgiving, Jackie. Bringing back Harold after 70 years of retirement is a lovely miracle in itself. There’s nothing like a good parade.
Happy Thanksgiving, Gloria!
Wow! Sorry I missed it! But we have in MN today an unnatural November occurrence known as sunshine elsewhere. Here it’s often called “What’s that strange blinding thingy in the sky? Uff da!!” Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Sunshine in November trumps nearly everything … plus, you said “uff da” which I haven’t heard in years! (My family moved from California to North Dakota when I was in middle school … and, it took me awhile to figure out what everyone meant when they said “uff da”.)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Jackie, thanks for this, and so much more. As we journey into the darkness, with only rumors and memories (and hope for Spring!) to sustain us, your blog will help light the way, I know. I really, truly do hope the Orioles make it to the Playoffs, next year, and not just for your sake. I love a team that stays where it belongs, like the Red Socks, the Indians and, hell, even the Yankees. This causes some qualms for me, as a Giants fan, but some principles are made to be overlooked.
Thanks, again, and love.
Thank you, John. And, truth be told, my Orioles are wanderers, too. They were the St. Louis Browns and only landed in Baltimore in 1954. As for those pesky Yankees … they were the Orioles who abandoned Baltimore in 1903 and became the NY Highlanders, who would be renamed the Yankees in 1913. I’m still pretty sore about this. :)
But, there is something about the Giants moving to California, isn’t there? You don’t hear it as much from Dodgers fans, but I have friends who were NY Giants fans as kids and they have yet to really come to terms with San Francisco.
Hope you and your editor had a great Thanksgiving! I DID see Harold yesterday, thought it was pretty cool. Now I will have to go back and watch Miracle on 34th Street with little Natalie Wood and look for Harold there as well!
I wonder how long it took the Parade officials to buy into making Harold a black-and-white balloon? I bet it took some convincing, but in the end it was so weirdly wonderful! Yay! I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving, too!
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I also have so much to be thankful for, including my blogging friends. Harold has to be the greatest balloon since Underdog.
-Mike