"The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the balloon retirement home all that cold, cold, wet day."

"Please, no more poems, Cat," groaned Bullwinkle.

"No hat tricks, either," begged Wonder Dog.

"Quit moping, all of you," said Yogi Bear. "At least we're warm and dry."

"Oh, to be wet and inflated," sighed Betty Boop. The balloons returned their gaze to the TV.

"In my day..." began Mickey.

Olive Oyl gave an audible yawn.

"Yes, in my day," the mouse resumed, "we didn't give a second thought to the weather. You got up Thanksgiving morning, way up, and you did your job."

"You mean you did Disney Inc.'s job," snorted Snoopy.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Mickey.

"You know what I mean. Shilling. Getting kids to beg for vacations to visit you."

"Oh, and I guess MetLife never bought you a bowl of Alpo," hissed Mickey.

"Fellas, fellas," said Yogi Bear, "let's enjoy ourselves today, okay? I'm going to the canteen. Anyone want some helium?"

The Pink Panther tried to raise his paw but couldn't. Yogi took that as a yes.

"Look at Olaf," cackled Wonder Dog, pointing to the TV. "They're holding him so low he's practically hunkering."

"Looks like he's being led off to prison," scoffed Snoopy.

"If I had to float that way, I'd prick myself," declared Bullwinkle.

"In my day..." began Mickey.

"It was our day, too!" snapped Snoopy. "We remember it well! We soared through the air like, like—"

"Like clouds!" squealed Betty Boop.

"Like lightning!" said Superman.

"None of this mollycoddling with trained handlers and police escorts," huffed Bullwinkle.

"All I had was five clerks from housewares holding on to me with a ball of twine," said Popeye.

"I had three salesgirls from lingerie," said Betty. "And they used lace."

"I flew myself!" crowed Woody Woodpecker. The others glanced at him suspiciously. "Uh, practically," he added.

Yogi returned with flutes of helium for everyone. "Now look, I know some of us are feeling a little low today, so I'd like to pause and think about what we have to be thankful for."

"No more waking up at midnight to be inflated?" ventured Olive Oyl.

"No more batons in the stomach?" booped Betty.

"No!" said Yogi. "Don't you see? A life well-led. We could have been slipcovers or Saran wrap. But instead, we brought joy to millions. A toast!" he cried. "To Macy's!"

"To Macy's!" cheered the balloons.

"And," said Mickey, putting his arm around Snoopy, "one heck of a parade."

Lenore Skenazy is author of the book and blog "Free-Range Kids" and a hilarious keynote speaker at conferences, companies and schools. Run out and get her book "Has the World Gone Skenazy?" To learn more about Lenore Skenazy (lskenazy@yahoo.com) and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.