Jaunted

I've got to go to work tomorrow, but many people have the day off, so while I'm hacking away at the office, thousands of revelers will line New York's Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 79th Street for a look at baton twirlers, marching bands, and rolling representations of the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

While not quite as raucous as, say, the Village Halloween Parade, the Columbus Day Parade still provides an opportunity to see which groups local political and business leaders are choosing to march with this year. Columbus Day also serves as a de facto Italian American Day, so expect to see plenty of green, white, and red flags flying throughout the city in honor of Italian heroes ranging from Joe DiMaggio to Giuseppe Garibaldi.

And then there's Christopher Columbus. Even if he "discovered" America accidentally, you've got to admit, it took stones to lobby Ferdinand and Isabella for the money and take off on a blind journey that many believed would end in death.

[Photo: AP via photos.state.gov]

Related Stories:
· 2008 Columbus Celebration [Columbus Citizens Foundation]
· Today in History [Library of Congress]
· Parade Coverage [Jaunted]