HOW MUCH IS THAT MUMMER IN THE WINDOW? One of the prime perks of living on Second Street in South Philadelphia is that once a year hundreds of handsome young men in dresses come a'calling. Especially if you are a young women with a window seat at street level on New Year's Day.

The wenches in purple and green are members of the Froggy Carr comic brigade greeting a neighbor on Two Street last New Year's morning during the Frogs march to the starting point Broad Street for the 2006 Mummers Parade. This scene is duplicated dozens of times each year along the long winding march through South Philly, which usually ends with the Frogs late to the official parade.

I write this on New Year's Eve around 6:30 P.M. Hurricane Schwartz and Co. are calling for rain, rain, rain for New Year's Day. Sounds like it might be the first postponed Mummers Parade since global warming. But don't count on it. See you at Dirty Frank's.