Items overheard on the Prospect Heights Message Boards about the West Indian-American Day Parade (Caribbean Day Parade), coming up this weekend (Labor Day weekend) on Eastern Parkway:

*NYPD have allegedly nicknamed it the “Murder Day Parade.”

*”Gun Play on the Parkway” was memorialized in Calypso songs of the 1970’s.

*Shootings and stabbings are commonplace, and most of it never makes the papers.

*It’s not a murder unless the victim dies.

*The last parade-related murder was in 2003, 2 years ago.

*In 1999, two 11-year-olds and an 18-year-old were crushed by vehicles involved in the caravan. In 2004, a 21-year-old woman got crushed but survived.

*Labor Day is the single biggest day of the year for trauma at the Kings County Hospital Emergency Department, beating out New Year’s Eve and Fourth of July.

*Many people have been going to the Caribbean Day Parade for years and have never had a problem with violence.

*Much of the violence is not random.

*It’s the only time you can ever find good corn on the cob in this damn city.

*The food is all incredible. Try the roti… Nothing like roti and a cold beer.

*It’s not the same since Giuliani banned alcohol sales (no more $1 Red Stripe truck).

*Some people bring rum punch in Gatorade bottles.

*Others like to bring a thermos full of rum to add to the pina coladas and other tropical drinks they sell.

*It’s scheduled to end at 5pm, but the fun (or madness, depending on your perspective) continues into the night.

*The website of the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association is www.wiadca.org.

This post sponsored by the the Prospect Heights Chamber of Commerce.*

*Note: Not actually sponsored by the Prospect Heights Chamber of Commerce.

More chatter:
Lock your Doors [Prospect Heights Message Boards]
When’s that West Indian Day Parade? [Prospect Heights Message Boards]
The Labor Day Parade [Prospect Heights Message Boards]

IMAGE SOURCE: RedLipstick.net

HouseBroken wrote on the Prospect Heights message boards: “… a great rotti-puppy has been living on a junkyard lot on Bergen tied to a tree. Her owner finally agreed to give her up and now she needs to find a home or a place to stay while she finds the right home. She is about 9 months old and less than 50lbs. She is super sweet and loves people.”

sje adds: “I met her … she’s sweet, playful and anxious to please. We taught her ’sit’ in about a minute. She needs to learn how to walk on a leash. This dog is so happy for any attention, she’ll make such a loving pet. She’s only about 50 lbs, a purebred Rottweiler, and contrary to the photo, has a normal sized tongue…”

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