On Sunday, Dec. 23, the Granada Hills Chamber of Commerce presented the 23 Annual Holiday Parade. For the eleventh consecutive year I was there (eight times as a volunteer and twice to ride in the parade) as a volunteer, overseeing the equestrian units with Ernie Hilger.

Now you have to understand: on Saturday, I was at the Rose Bowl watching UCLA humble USC and prove the pundits aren't always right. The game was so intense I had very little voice left. So when I arrived at the Petit Park parking lot around 8 a.m. to meet John Weitkamp (Chamber board member, past president, and local attorney), weather conditions did not make my voice better. The winds were gusting about 40-50 mph and the temperature was around 50 degrees.

I reviewed the parade line-up and was happy to see only six equestrian units listed. I wouldn't need to talk much. Of course, the first hours of parade day are very tense as some residents come out of their homes to find their cars in the process of being towed or already missing.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation places the temporary parking signs, indicating no parking from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Sunday only), the Thursday before the parade. But having had a rental car towed in New York City (while I was parked under the sign that said no street parking after 7:30 a.m.), I know they simply did not pay attention to the "new" sign or ignored the warning.

At one point, a young man came out of an apartment building with a basket of laundry. I thought he was leaving the laundry room to fold clothes in his unit - wrong! He came out looking for his car, which had already been towed away. The young man uttered an expletive but was polite when speaking with us. He told us his car had been towed the previous year as well. He walked away sadly, calling someone on his cell phone to give him a ride.

The first equestrian unit to show up was the San Fernando Rangers, a group of Deputy Sheriffs who act as a mounted Color Guard. The Rodriguez & Solis Charro Group was back, as well as the Charros Unidos. New (at least to my knowledge) this year were the Asociasion de Charros de Sylmar and Lemly Ranch (marching with the North Valley Veterinary Clinic).

By far this was the largest collection of horse trailers I had seen in eleven years. There were so many rigs we had to use Petit Street as overflow. By 1:15 p.m., we began lining up the units in anticipation of the parade's start time: 1:30 p.m.

At this point, I am reminded of the curiosity of what is said when a catcher goes to the mound to talk with a pitcher. I bring this up because, per my watch, it was 1:32 p.m. and the punctual parade had not started. Someone called over the radio and asked what the hold up was. Tom Williams, parade operations, responded by saying, "My official watch says it's 1:29 p.m. We go off in one minute." Another voice asked, "Can we say we started 30 seconds early and get going?" The LAPD car leading off the parade turned on its lights and siren - the 23rd Annual Granada Hills Chamber of Commerce Holiday Parade had begun.

Over the course of the next two hours, 110 units (marchers, bands, floats, VIPs, horses, dogs, clowns, and cars) traveled down Chatsworth Street. Along the sidewalks, children and adults cheered, laughed, and applauded as the units marched by them.

We often complain about how expensive a ticket to the movies is, or that a family of four needs a loan to go to a theme park. Well, where were you during the parade? After all, it's fun, entertaining, and more importantly - free! The Daily News is a great source of calendar information. Maybe it's time you checked it out and took advantage of the many free activities that are available for families. As we enter the season of giving, think about this: for those who march in a parade, having cheering fans line the curbs brings a smile to their faces. So grab the kids and a blanket and find the next local town parade. Merry Christmas .