I fear we’re not going to make it tonight.  There is just a bit too much effort involved in getting there and being involved in a mass crowd, even though it is incredibly polite.  Last night someone said it is like a scout rally.  We walk through the masses, muttering our excuses, and everyone adapts, incorporates, and accommodates us, as they accommodate each other.   Hundreds and thousands of people, and the street is clean afterward.  No one drops their trash, rarely loses a hat, and never drops a cigarette.  

And it’s not a social event.  Although I sometimes spy a long-lost friend, they disappear in the crowd before we get to embrace.  People don’t stand around talking about their jobs – they are pretty much focused on the task at hand.

And now that I have described it, how could I not go tonight?