Los Alamos Daily Post goes paradin'
We had all the makings for a great show. There were uniforms, decorations, candy and even a death-defying stunt. With all these factors assembled, the Los Alamos Daily Post team was ready to take to the streets during the Fair and Rodeo Parade. By the time I reached the parking lot where the parade began, many participants were suited up and buzzing with anticipation for the event to start. The high school marching band let out mighty cheers, the rodeo royalty trotted their horses and parade organizers scurried around with clipboards.
As for the Los Alamos Daily Post staff, we stood admiring our parade entry and documenting this particular moment with several cameras. Two of the staff members loaned their camper for the parade and decorated the sides with Daily Post banners as well as helium, butterfly-shaped balloons.Their shiny, metalic-colored wings were bouyed by the wind. On the top of the camper, a lawn chair was strapped to the roof so one brave soul could get a birds' eye view of the parade. We dressed in our parade uniforms, which consisted of either a Daily Post T-shirt or baseball cap. Two mixing bowls were filled with candy to be passed out to the younger parade spectators.
One Los Alamos Daily Post worker and I assumed command of the candy distribution while another employee sat in the rear of the van -its doors were left opened-to help with candy refills and to pass out water.
The photographer climbed on a ladder to perch on the roof and shoot photographs while two others sat in the van.
The photographer's high seat made a police officer stop his car but permitted us to continue. We- both walkers and van-strolled down Central Avenue at a leisurely pace. Some kids eagerly scooped handfuls of sweet treats from the bowls while other mothers balked at the candy bowl. As we approached the end of the parade route, us walkers jumped into the back of the van and rather than take a side street back to the parade's orgins, we choose an alternative route. With the back doors still wide open and the photographer still on his high seat, we journeyed down the main drag of Trinity Drive. We could see the cars creeping along in back of us and I watched the edges of the butterfly balloons' wings flutter from the windsheild. We all wondered how the photographer was holding up after coming to a parking lot littered with potholes that rocked the van. He was no longer just a photographer but stuntman doing a trick that defied gratvity.
It all turned out alright. The photographer climbed into the car unharmed and two others jumped out to go to the Daily Post's booth at the fair. Sitting in the back of the camper, I imagined us to be somesort of SWAT team, crouched in the back of a van - ready to spring into action and game for anything.
As for the Los Alamos Daily Post staff, we stood admiring our parade entry and documenting this particular moment with several cameras. Two of the staff members loaned their camper for the parade and decorated the sides with Daily Post banners as well as helium, butterfly-shaped balloons.Their shiny, metalic-colored wings were bouyed by the wind. On the top of the camper, a lawn chair was strapped to the roof so one brave soul could get a birds' eye view of the parade. We dressed in our parade uniforms, which consisted of either a Daily Post T-shirt or baseball cap. Two mixing bowls were filled with candy to be passed out to the younger parade spectators.
One Los Alamos Daily Post worker and I assumed command of the candy distribution while another employee sat in the rear of the van -its doors were left opened-to help with candy refills and to pass out water.
The photographer climbed on a ladder to perch on the roof and shoot photographs while two others sat in the van.
The photographer's high seat made a police officer stop his car but permitted us to continue. We- both walkers and van-strolled down Central Avenue at a leisurely pace. Some kids eagerly scooped handfuls of sweet treats from the bowls while other mothers balked at the candy bowl. As we approached the end of the parade route, us walkers jumped into the back of the van and rather than take a side street back to the parade's orgins, we choose an alternative route. With the back doors still wide open and the photographer still on his high seat, we journeyed down the main drag of Trinity Drive. We could see the cars creeping along in back of us and I watched the edges of the butterfly balloons' wings flutter from the windsheild. We all wondered how the photographer was holding up after coming to a parking lot littered with potholes that rocked the van. He was no longer just a photographer but stuntman doing a trick that defied gratvity.
It all turned out alright. The photographer climbed into the car unharmed and two others jumped out to go to the Daily Post's booth at the fair. Sitting in the back of the camper, I imagined us to be somesort of SWAT team, crouched in the back of a van - ready to spring into action and game for anything.
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| The crew of the Los Alamos Daily Post |
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| Two members of the Daily Post |
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