At around 11:45pm, my toes having grown numb, I remembered a promise I made to myself. Never again would I do the Elephant Parade, I loudly proclaimed last year, having finished up the event at the rather rude hour of 2AM. I sighed the sigh of a man defeated by his own forgetfulness, stomped my feet for warmth, and settled into the entertaining tales of Paul and Stephan, two of my many flickr compatriots for the night. It was fun to talk and shoot the breeze with folk, although Paul's reports of empty streets just blocks away did beckon to my ears, as I grew tired of the crowd we were fronting. And then they were upon us. We climbed over each other to get a clear shot, I dove for the ground to capture my trademark low angle attempts. Premetering and prefocusing were good decisions, as I still am too slow withthe manual focus camera. People cheered, people too photos, people ran straight for the giant grey beasts, people had fun. And then they were gone. It's hard to believe it when you are told that elephants are relatively fast. You imagine slow lumbering beasts, it is hard to visualize their speed. But fast they are, and their passage lasts a whole of 20 seconds, perhaps 30 tops. And you're left with a wonderous mystic emptiness to the air, laughing and in a state of shock, trying to comprehend what happened too fast to be real. And then we were off. For, you see, the best part of the elephant parade is the chase. The footrace to beat the elephants, and perhaps get another chance to capture their visage. Their pace is that of a brisk walk, one that can be outdone by a steady gait. But the novices fail to understand that it is not a sprint, but a marathon. By the middle of the block, the people were dropping like flies, and by the second only the truely hard core shooters were still in the game. Taking a picture in the intersection, I parted ways with S.D., and broke out to the abandoned alley that is 33rd street. Empty and lifeless, the perfect channel to race ahead of the crowd to an empty 7th avenue, with time to spare to catch my breath and set up for the final shot. Alas, a security guard stepping into frame at the last minute, but it was well worth it to greet the others at the effective finish line. 1:30am, and it was all over. 'Twas fun, and good excersize to boot, but it is too late, it is too cold, it is too short! I promise to never do it again! See you there next year.