Chapter One
At half-past three o’clock in the morning on New Year’s Day, the floats are lined up in silence along Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena, California, guarded by police officers and men and women who wear white suits.
The Rose Queen and her Princesses are waking up and taking their showers, ready to be transported to the Tournament House, where hairdressers and makeup artists are assembling to prepare them for their royal ride down Colorado Boulevard.
A fleet of white Honda vans with the Tournament Rose emblazoned on their sides is heading for appointed assignments.
The President of the Tournament of Roses and his or her family are throwing back their bedcovers after a very brief sleep, having stayed up until the early hours of the morning while the floats have submitted to the final judging.
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