Saturday Afternoon in Greenwich Village: Ninth Annual NYC Pillow Fight Day at Washington Square Park

(Video courtesy jay r Mojica) (Video courtesy Ms. Happy Panther)
(Video courtesy JoseKickaha1)

Saturday Afternoon in Union Square: The Sixth Annual World's Most Exciting Pillow Fight at Union Square Park

We stayed a lot longer at this year's Pillow Fight Day at Union Square than we did last year. The event was breathtaking -- mostly because a few people brought pillows with the verboten feathers, and our allergy to them made us reach for our inhaler to ward off an asthma attack. As Charlotte Bronte wrote, "A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow."

This couple across from us on the L train -- their friends were beside us, and beside themselves with anticipation -- wondered if they'd make the 3 p.m. pillow fight on time. We assured them they would.

They asked us where our pillow was, and we told them this was an event for young participants, that sexagenarians like us find it exciting just to be spectators.

That is, when we were able to spectate. This was the view from Whole Foods on the south side of Fourteenth Street.

The crowds are so thick with pillows -- it is remarkable how many people appear not to have pillows at home and so bought what were presumably their first pillows for the occasion -- it was hard to see too much without getting close enough so that we'd be injured. So we stuck to the periphery where people were phoning in their pillow-fighting.


But it's good clean fun and a new sure sign of spring in New York. Luckily it was a beautiful afternoon for freestyle ultimate no-holds-barred pillow fighting. Hordes of pillow fighters emerged from the subway ready to rumble.

These costumed pillow fighters were sponsored by Nestle's Crunch, whose logo adorned their weapons.

Afterwards, one of them confessed that he accidentally knocked a three-year-old boy to the ground during the melee. Luckily, the kid was okay and any litigation prevented by quick application of a candy bar to his mouth.

Sadly, there were episodes of people becoming crazed by the intense pillow fighting.

This young woman went completely berserk and began attacking random pedestrians outside Staples on Union Square West.

Disgusted by the violence and trying to avoid her blows, we ran across the street to commune with the nonviolent spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, who was blissfully unaware that pillow-fighting mayhem was ensuing in the background.

We were worn out but grateful for this event as a sign of spring as sure as these budding flowers. On the L train coming back home to Williamsburg, we were reminded of what Benjamin Franklin wrote in Poor Richard's Almanac: "Fatigue is the best pillow."

If not the best pillow fight.

Saturday Afternoon in Union Square: The Fifth Annual World's Most Exciting Pillow Fight

We had to leave Union Square after only six minutes of watching the Fifth Annual World's Most Exciting Pillowfight.

At our advanced age, we were afraid our heart couldn't stand the strain of so much excitement and so many Spider-Man pillows.

As everyone on the planet knows, today millions of cool people around the globe met in scores of cities to bash each other around the head with pillows.

In New York, the largest and most exciting of these events was sponsored by Filene's Basement, whose shopping bags were alarmingly present as people made their way to the center of the park.

Filene's upper floors - we learned today that "Basement" is a misnomer - served as "box seats" for the upper crust among pillow-fight spectators.

We suspect other people may be posting photos of this thrilling event, too.

The excitement made us a bit faint, so we had to turn our back to the great foam battle and settled for the calming view of those engaged in watching the exhilarating action.

Breaking the rules, some rather unsportsmanlike types used feather pillows, causing the spectators to go into even more of a frenzy.

We can only admire the energy and determination of the participants and their commitment to a noble effort.

A surprisingly large number of people bearing pillows were still arriving five minutes after the action had begun. Most of them were NYU students.

Ambulances and paramedics were on hand standing by on 14th Street to treat those of us in the audience who were overcome with excess stimulation after witnessing the pillow fight.

We refused medical attention, however - we were too embarrassed to tell the EMT we had acute angina - and made it home on the L train in ten minutes, eager for our Inderal.

After seeing that mammoth pillow flight, our blood pressure soared to 120/70, and we're ready to lie our weary head down on our own two hypoallergenic pillows to rest up from viewing such an electrifiying event.