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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Inspirational
- Subject: Character Based
- Published: 11/12/2025
C03-Angel Candidate Carson
Born 1950, U, from Arlington, TX, United States.jpeg)
Carson Sanderson was having a perfectly normal day in every way, so far.
He had gotten up at his usual time, 6 AM. He had had his coffee and breakfast as he watched the news. The announcers were joking about the crowds not being as heavy for the parade scheduled to occur in a few hours. Apparently, the rainy weather from the previous night had put a damper on things, but that was expected to right itself very soon.
He turned to his cat, Aloysius, and said, “Maybe I should run down there and see if I can still get a good spot. I’ve never seen the parade in person.”
Aloysius had nothing to say about that, but he did step over and rub his side on his human servant’s leg, which Carson assumed was some form of agreement. Carson grabbed his jacket and headed for the bus-stop.
*. *. *
Carson found a great location to view the parade as it entered Herald’s Square. It was shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of strangers, but he was on the front row, his hands resting on the sawhorse barricade.
He had never seen the parade up close and personal like this before. The marching bands were loud. The huge balloons drifted by overhead and the floats that drove by were brightly colored and had waving people all over them. He kept an eye out for Santa. Everyone knew that he would be at the end.
He smiled when he saw the Snoopy balloon approaching. It brought back memories of the cartoons and animated specials.
As Snoopy drew abreast of his position, something strange started to happen. The people holding the many ropes which restrained the huge balloon suddenly seemed out of sequence. They were moving erratically or dancing or something. None of the other balloons which had passed had behaved like this. A patch of ice must have formed.
Things got worse. Some of the rope handlers started falling down and others dropped their ropes and seemed to be losing the fight to keep their balance.
After ten or so ropes had been released, Snoopy rode noticeably higher. Two more handlers fell down on the left side, and it did not seem that disaster could be avoided. Snoopy began to tilt and rise at the same time. It seemed uncontrolled flight was inevitable.
A scream reverberated in the square as a young woman began to rise up with the balloon. Of course, the entire situation was caught on camera as multiple outlets were filming the parade.
“Let go of the rope!” More than one person was shouting at the girl, but she either did not hear or did not want to.
Carson noticed that the rope was twisted around the girl’s wrist and he realized that she was stuck and could not let go. In moments she would be too high to safely drop. He looked around the see if any of her companions were going to help but that did not seem to be happening.
Without another thought, Carson decided on action. Bending down, he slipped under the barricade and raced towards the girl. She was already several feet above the pavement, her legs flailing.
He barely noticed the slippery street as he focused all of his attention on his goal. When he was just below the girl, he squatted down and then flew upward. Wrapping his arms about her thighs he held on for both their lives. He had been trying to catch her waist, but he was not a senior playing basketball anymore.
To his relief, it seemed as though his extra weight was just enough to bring the balloon back down. It was also helpful that the handlers gained their footing and took control of their ropes again.
When his feet touched the ground, he helped to guide the young girl down.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes! Thanks to you! I think you saved my life!” she said. “I can’t believe you risked your life like that. You’re sure to be an angel some day!”
“That may be an overstatement,” Carson said.
“Oh, I should know,” the girl added. “I just talked with an angel earlier today.”
“Well, I’m just Carson.”
Extending her free hand, the girl said, “Penelope.”
“Glad to meet you.”
“Me too,” Penelope said. As the sound of a whistle pierced the rumble of crowd noise, she looked around. The parade was continuing. “Sorry, got to go!”
She faced forward and started in sequence with the others. Carson knew that the parade route was almost at its end. He wriggled out of the crowd, which was not as easy as it sounds, and hurried to where the parade was exiting the square and headed for the take-down location.
He followed Snoopy to the end and found Penelope in the crowd talking with a man and woman, who were introduced as her friends, Mary and Frank.
The chance event which brought the two strangers together on national television that day resulted in several dinner dates, a drink or two at a couple of nightclubs, introductions to parents, nuptials and eventually Angela Catherine Josephine Sanderson, a wonderful little girl that grew up to add her two cents to history.
He had gotten up at his usual time, 6 AM. He had had his coffee and breakfast as he watched the news. The announcers were joking about the crowds not being as heavy for the parade scheduled to occur in a few hours. Apparently, the rainy weather from the previous night had put a damper on things, but that was expected to right itself very soon.
He turned to his cat, Aloysius, and said, “Maybe I should run down there and see if I can still get a good spot. I’ve never seen the parade in person.”
Aloysius had nothing to say about that, but he did step over and rub his side on his human servant’s leg, which Carson assumed was some form of agreement. Carson grabbed his jacket and headed for the bus-stop.
*. *. *
Carson found a great location to view the parade as it entered Herald’s Square. It was shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of strangers, but he was on the front row, his hands resting on the sawhorse barricade.
He had never seen the parade up close and personal like this before. The marching bands were loud. The huge balloons drifted by overhead and the floats that drove by were brightly colored and had waving people all over them. He kept an eye out for Santa. Everyone knew that he would be at the end.
He smiled when he saw the Snoopy balloon approaching. It brought back memories of the cartoons and animated specials.
As Snoopy drew abreast of his position, something strange started to happen. The people holding the many ropes which restrained the huge balloon suddenly seemed out of sequence. They were moving erratically or dancing or something. None of the other balloons which had passed had behaved like this. A patch of ice must have formed.
Things got worse. Some of the rope handlers started falling down and others dropped their ropes and seemed to be losing the fight to keep their balance.
After ten or so ropes had been released, Snoopy rode noticeably higher. Two more handlers fell down on the left side, and it did not seem that disaster could be avoided. Snoopy began to tilt and rise at the same time. It seemed uncontrolled flight was inevitable.
A scream reverberated in the square as a young woman began to rise up with the balloon. Of course, the entire situation was caught on camera as multiple outlets were filming the parade.
“Let go of the rope!” More than one person was shouting at the girl, but she either did not hear or did not want to.
Carson noticed that the rope was twisted around the girl’s wrist and he realized that she was stuck and could not let go. In moments she would be too high to safely drop. He looked around the see if any of her companions were going to help but that did not seem to be happening.
Without another thought, Carson decided on action. Bending down, he slipped under the barricade and raced towards the girl. She was already several feet above the pavement, her legs flailing.
He barely noticed the slippery street as he focused all of his attention on his goal. When he was just below the girl, he squatted down and then flew upward. Wrapping his arms about her thighs he held on for both their lives. He had been trying to catch her waist, but he was not a senior playing basketball anymore.
To his relief, it seemed as though his extra weight was just enough to bring the balloon back down. It was also helpful that the handlers gained their footing and took control of their ropes again.
When his feet touched the ground, he helped to guide the young girl down.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes! Thanks to you! I think you saved my life!” she said. “I can’t believe you risked your life like that. You’re sure to be an angel some day!”
“That may be an overstatement,” Carson said.
“Oh, I should know,” the girl added. “I just talked with an angel earlier today.”
“Well, I’m just Carson.”
Extending her free hand, the girl said, “Penelope.”
“Glad to meet you.”
“Me too,” Penelope said. As the sound of a whistle pierced the rumble of crowd noise, she looked around. The parade was continuing. “Sorry, got to go!”
She faced forward and started in sequence with the others. Carson knew that the parade route was almost at its end. He wriggled out of the crowd, which was not as easy as it sounds, and hurried to where the parade was exiting the square and headed for the take-down location.
He followed Snoopy to the end and found Penelope in the crowd talking with a man and woman, who were introduced as her friends, Mary and Frank.
The chance event which brought the two strangers together on national television that day resulted in several dinner dates, a drink or two at a couple of nightclubs, introductions to parents, nuptials and eventually Angela Catherine Josephine Sanderson, a wonderful little girl that grew up to add her two cents to history.
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