Did you hear the one about how a string of the Audi TTs got lost on their way to the parade? Prior to the parade, the Hughes family, their invited guests and most of the political participants convened at Parkwood for a breakfast while their convertibles and drivers lined up outside. They were to proceed to the starting and merging point at the station in the Plaza; however, the motorcycle escort roared away a wee bit fast and the first driver made a wrong turn with the other cars following like goslings behind him. It was Town of North Hempstead Supervisor May Newburger who saved the day because she was able to direct the driver and the misplaced cavalcade through the maze of back streets to land at the appointed starting place to join with the marching bands, the floats, the fire engines, and the merry and athletic host of fans some of whom ran along side the motorcade for the whole procession.

Or how U.S. Senator Charles Schumer arrived too late to meet up with his pre-assigned car and parade coordinator, Richard Arenella commandeered a highly polished Excalibur (along with its startled but game owner) that he fortuitously spotted to drive the Senator? (Mr. Arenella would like this good sport to step forward and identify himself as his name remains a mystery.)

Or how Macy's wanted to contribute bigger, fanciful balloons used for the Thanksgiving Day Parade which were regretfully declined due to the power lines that crisscross the streets, unlike New York City where the lines are buried? Good thing someone thought that one through.

Or that it was the first time in recent history that all nine mayors attended an event together, albeit in separate cars? It was one for the record books.

And we were also interested in the rumors that flew all over town. Was Michael Bolton originally scheduled as the surprise singer of the national anthem? The short answer is "Yes." But he was only booked for Parade I. By the time Parade II rolled around, he had begun a European tour.

Was the President ever serious about coming? Not to our knowledge. Organizers, Richard Arenella and Mayor of Great Neck Plaza Jean Celender and their command central at the Parkwood office were abuzz aplenty with the logistics relating to safety and security. There is no doubt that a presidential visit or a first lady visit would have turned a hometown, down-home parade upside-down.

Offers of an embarrassment of riches poured into command central. Everyone it seemed wanted to give something to and be a part of the celebration of Sarah Hughes victory day. The committee quickly realized that if many, relatively small sponsorships, were granted, it would add to the complexity of the parade to adequately acknowledge so many contributors. And while it was agreed that the parade should be grand and festive, it was also agreed upon that it should not be interminable or commercialized.

And that was why it was decided to make the parade a motorcade instead of a marching parade with the exception of the bands and family friends who were up to keeping a brisk pace. Organizations in town were also clamoring to participate, so it was decided to have a special area for representatives of the community organizations to be staged with their signs of support.

It seems that the protocol for parade order is not written down in some dusty tome somewhere that is universally accepted, so there was some scrambling as to which politicians rode together and in what order. But after the morning's adventure of the unexpected scenic tour of Great Neck, it seemed that the officials had settled down and were just having a good time along with everyone else.

It was noted by Mr. Arenella that handling the media (local press excluded) became a big challenge. For those who know his office, you know that it is large, visible and accessible. So the press camped out there, wandered in at odd moments and pressed for details before they were decided. And while it was fun at first to be the center of a media blaze, it became frazzling. At this point, the firm of Zimmerman & Edelson volunteered to be the media link. Mr. Arenella says, "Robert and Ron have the ability to link up with say, 60 news outlets on one phone call. At the end of the conference calls, it was funny to hear so many hang-ups from around the world. I don't know what we would have done without them, especially when we had to cancel Parade I."

The first plan floated was to end the motorcade at Parkwood and to have the ceremony there. An immediate, throbbing collective headache began as organizers discussed equitable schemes for distributing 1700 tickets for the event. Villages would receive a certain number of tickets based on census data and would issue them on a first come, first serve basis, except for the VIPs whose numbers were swelling rapidly as the plans circulated on a busy grapevine. Visual images of people camping out to wait at village halls or at the Town of North Hempstead, serving the unincorporated areas, for tickets or jockeying for admission was enough to make all involved shudder. Getting a ticket would have become a new Olympic sport. John Hughes is credited for speaking up at this point and making it clear that the event should be inclusive, not exclusive, and the short-lived Parkwood plan faded away.

The Village Green Park was considered as a possibility for the ceremony, but in the end, it was felt that the North High School had much more to offer in the way of accommodations and safe alternatives for support of the event. When approached, the school district administration and the school's management team agreed and "it worked out beautifully."

As to the ceremony itself, it was agreed that there would be less talking and more singing, that children would play a major role, that those politicians speaking would be limited to one minute and that it would be lively, tightly paced and have production value since it would be televised in full on Channel 12.

Naturally, with an event of this magnitude and complexity, there were some ruffled feathers from groups and individuals who wanted to play a more prominent role or who disagreed with certain decisions that were made. There were some who disagreed with Jean Celender's playing a major role since she was also running for re-election as mayor in the Plaza. But Mr. Arenella and Ms. Celender were nonplussed by the criticism because they and their staffs have had experience in working together in putting together the Memorial Day parade and numerous cooperative concerts at Grace Avenue Park. "Sure," said Richard, "we hadn't done something before that was this big, but then again, nobody had, but at least we knew we could work together well. And we were in total agreement that it wasn't about us, it was about Sarah and making her the best celebration we could. But we had great help from countless people. Everyone rose to the occasion. It was Great Neck at its best!"

"That Congressman" Gary Ackerman won the unofficial vote for funniest presenter and most memorable line when he said, "It would be a bad trade to win a medal and lose a childhood." Afterwards, he laughed about the hijacked parade saying, "Without May who really knows her neighborhood, they would have had to send out the helicopters to find us. The organizers and the people of Great Neck should get the Gold Medal for putting on such a parade on such short notice!"