Michael D. Davis.

Well, that was a weekend. Dog hair, sweat, and a parade, nothing but the best.

The kid, Johnny, and I have wanted to promote the paper in a local event for over a year, but have been unsuccessful. First, the Stoplight Festival got rained out, then we never got around to getting anything together for the Jolly Lights thing. So, being in the Lincoln Highway Bridge parade was a priority.

Multiple ideas for floats were thrown out, including one where it would just be me and the kid on a flatbed, sitting in chairs, reading the newspaper. We wouldn’t throw out candy or wave; we’d just ignore everyone and read the paper. This was ultimately abandoned, as were several other slightly humorous ideas.

We landed on a banner, simple, easy, reusable. I designed it, painted it, ordered two, and received three. The day was starting to come up, and I needed to figure out how to attach the thing to the side of the truck. I taped the banner. I ziptied the banner. I used string to tie the banner, and nothing worked. Finally, an idea for the back end was conceived to hold the banners, and I got my father and his friend to make them for me. Also in preparation, a dozen bags of candy and a five gallon bucket was purchased.

Finally, Saturday had arrived. I was up at eight in the morning attaching the banners to the banner holders. Once I got them all ziptied up, the kid called me; he was on his way. The kid was back and forth, in and out of town, so much over the weekend that I got whiplash and was a little surprised he made it on time. Once, the kid, my sister, I and my dog Dixie, all got loaded up, we were on our way. We weren’t in the car five minutes, though, when one banner snapped loose and started flapping in the wind like a dead bird. We had to make a pit stop at the dollar store parking lot to give it a fix. Next problem, we didn’t know where to go, but after a phone call and some cruisin’ around, we found the parade and our spot.

Parked in place, the kid got out to adjust the banners again. I attempted to figure out how I was going to drive, hold Dixie, and throw candy at the same time. Dixie refused to sit in the middle, instead opting to sit directly on me with her head out the window. So, I made the game plan that I’d hold Dixie with my left arm, drive with my right, and anytime I could, I’d throw out candy. This plan was already doomed because, as we sat there in line 20 minutes before the parade started, Dixie’s butt slipped and she honked the horn.

We started forward. I had a firm grip on Dixie and was ready to throw candy. The first person we came upon was Megan Jordan, who was actually directing the traffic of the parade instead of just attending, but the kid and I, in all our humor, decided to throw a piece of candy at her every time we passed her.

One of the next people we encountered in the parade was a woman holding a toddler. The little one was enthralled with Dixie, and they came up to the truck and asked if they could pet her. I said sure. The toddler seemed to have second thoughts, Dixie then noticing a new face in front of her, gave the little girls cheek a lick, which spawned some giggles.

Dixie was the real fan favorite of our float. She even got announced by Cat Campbell Currier as Dixie the Newshound. However, she was a little overwhelmed by all the goings on and didn’t know where to look. She wanted to look out my window, but then she realized that the kid was doing something on his side and she’d try to turn around. At one point, she managed to just sit on my chest, a paw on each side of my head as she looked back and forth out the driver and passenger side windows.

The kid was having his own problems. He threw out candy from the big bucket, then had to continually refill my little bucket that sat on the center console. About half way thorough the parade, he had to refill the big bucket as well. It was a whirlwind of candy. My father was asked if he wanted to ride along and help throw out candy, but his response was that he wanted to catch the candy.

When we got through the parade, we had to find a place to park. Incidentally, we found ourselves right back around at the tail end of the parade. If we had the energy and the candy, we might have just gone around a second time and confused everyone.

When we got out of the truck to walk around a little bit, I realized my black shirt had turned white from Dixie shedding. I needed a good lint roll. We wandered around for a few minutes, then headed back to the truck. Dixie, tired from waving in the parade, had to be carried back. When she did get in the truck, she claimed the passenger’s seat for herself. When the kid got in, she refused to move, so he just put the seat buckle around them both and they shared the spot.

All in all, it was a good time. I’m sure we will do it again next year. A few changes will have to be made. I’ll bring a lint roller, and maybe we will train Dixie to throw out candy. Who knows?