Today's MOSTLY TRUE SHORT STORY: A Thanksgiving Day Memory.

All words and photos: F LoBuono

A few years ago I got lucky and drew a plum assignment: Cover the Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for CBS News. Making the assignment even more attractive to me was that I was to shoot B-roll, i.e. the video that would be used to support the narrative of the report. That meant I would not be tethered to a fixed "live" position but, rather freelance along the entire parade route. This allowed me a great deal of creative freedom to show the parade as I was seeing it. And, because of the access granted to me by the NYPD to complete my assignment, I had virtual carte blanche to roam wherever I liked.

And, it was awesome!

I could walk between the handlers, who were doing their best in keeping the huge balloons tethered to Central Park West, and give the unusual perspective of having the massive images fly right over the top. They are so gigantic that it was almost frigthening to be so close to them.

Well, I was executing one of those shots when disaster almost struck. I was on one knee and arched my back to follow the movement of the balloon as it passed directly overhead. I completed the shot and began to stand to get my next shot when I realized that my camera was being pulled out of my hands - and, I couldn't understand why. It was then that I realized it was happening because one of the ropes between a handler and the balloon had caught the eye piece of my camera and was taking it along with them! I recovered just in time to untangle it before it was gone forever.

I was relieved to find their was no damage to my camera and began shooting again. There was plenty of parade left. I guess that some days, you just get lucky. I sure did that Thanksgiving many years ago.

Yes - there is always something to be grateful for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!