July 1, 2008
Arlington Heights Lunatics Call Dibs On Spots Along Parade Route
Wow, Arlington Heights's Fourth of July parade must be a big deal. People call dibs on spots along the route days in advance, which...is insane. This year, the village is asking people not to call dibs earlier than the night before the parade. Which is still insane.
People mark their territory with stakes and rope (industrious!), lawn chairs, blankets held down with bricks, a sprinkler—you name it. It can be kind of a mess, so officials are hoping people will cool their jets this year. Still, people get excited.
Joan Daily's husband, Brian, calls it his Christmas. He sets up a table every year, and mixes bloody marys for the 100 or so guests who show up at his place for the festivities.
Brian, I will see you Friday. [Trib, festive July Fourth-y photo by doug.siefken]
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This stuff happens every year at Mardi Gras. People camp out on the St. Charles neutral ground for a week to keep their prime parade spots. It's not unusual for Tulane frats to 'haze' their pledges by making said pledges sit at the spots all day to help hold them. And crowds for the Endymion parade are NOTORIOUS for staking out their marks well ahead of time.
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yeah, that seems about right. happens with all the big parties... new years in times square, mardi gras, arlington heights foj parade...
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it's people like this who keep me away from parades.
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wow...I knew life sucked in the suburbs...but wow.
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What would be hilarious is to go there overnight at 3am or so, and remove all the dibs materials.
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I ran a summer concert back in Ohio, and we clearly stated that all "dibs" before the morning of the concert would be taken away. I have to admit, it made me a little drunk with power ripping stakes out of the ground, etc. People are crazy!
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@Marcus Gilmer
Yeah, but this ain't Mardi Gras.
Unless there's a great deal of sexy nudity, public drunkenness and brilliant costumes to be seen in the AH parade, I agree with the "They're Insane" assessment.
@Tower18
That's mean. It would be more fun to just switch all the "dibs materals" around.
"Panic on the streets of Arlington Heights as no one can find their specific lawnchair."
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Well, AP, you obviously haven't seen what Brian's wife does after she gets a couple bloody marys in her.
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@Albanyparkour
Actually, most of New Orleans is pretty tame and family-oriented. All that debauchery is relegated to Bourbon Street. I imagine these are actually similar situations, which was my intended point. And that I agree 100% with the "Insanity" claim. Ridonkulous.
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and by "most of New Orleans" I mean "most of the uptown New Orleans parade route."
mea culpa.
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I too would remove that shit. I hate that people do that even in the winter here. That's right. I said it. No dibs on public ways ever.
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If I lived in Arlington Heights, I would borrow a van and make multiple trips to that parade route at 3 AM.
One week later, I would hold a yard sale featuring used lawn furniture.
I would even be kind enough to let people buy back their stuff. After all, I am not a mean guy.
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As far as I'm concerned, it's cheating if a person leaves something to save a spot and then goes on his merry way. If a person wants to sit on a curb for two days to get a good spot, he better stay there, or establish a rotation with some friends. None of this inanimate object BS - surely these people are old enough to have waited in line for tickets before.
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Another example of intense Midwestern territorialism. What is it with you people?