When is a chair not a chair? When it is selected as the Grand Marshall of the 31st annual king Mango Strut Parade in Coconut Grove (http://www.kingmangostrut.org )
In keeping with the ‘long strange trip’ the King Mango Strut has been on in choosing its Grand Marshalls, this one is a doozy. They have been dead, auctioned off to the highest bidder and not nearly famous. They’ve been politicians, thrown off the air and a beloved home-boy. This edition’s pick is neither animal vegetable or mineral but the epitome of the wacky mindset of the parade’s organizers.
Having said that, it’s all about satirizing the news of the past year, and what could have been more ‘nutsy for the strutsy’ than a symbol of how far right a political party went and then went down to defeat because they went too far.
The actual chair, now a pop culture icon, was vilified and ridiculed by some and raised to almost mythic status by others when it was utilized by Hollywood hero Clint Eastwood as a ‘foil’ for his ad-libbed ‘speech’ to a raucous Republican convention in Tampa. He carried on a conversation with an empty chair on stage and acted out a scenario in which he pretended to be speaking to president Obama. His rambling talk received cheers from the right and jeers from the left for its content which, at times, took on a true disrespect for the man and the office.
Now it’s time to resurrect that history and drag that metaphor through the streets of Coconut Grove on the afternoon of December 30th to the delight of the satirical cognoscenti.
This year’s ‘Grand Marshall’ can’t acknowledge the ‘honor’, wave to the adoring throngs, or answer questions from the press, but it will speak volumes to the gathered ‘Mango-heads’ who will simply get the joke and appreciate the humor.
It will be a self-evident joke for the 99% and a question mark for the 1%.
Don’t ask for it to be explained, because if you do, you have no business in the street that day. (or no sense of humor!)