MWD Float

Last Friday I had off (a professional day) to work on our school's My Waterloo Days float. For the last 20 years we have been dragging a dumb bowl behind a state-of-the art tractor. The reason why the float is a bowl was because one year some kid fell off a float, not ours, and was hurt. Ever since then the insurance company required us to have really high sides on the float. I understand the insurance company's request, but I don't get why our school didn't decide to leave kids off the float instead of building high sides and ends on the float turning it into a flippin bowl?

For years students rode in the float and waved to parents. For the last 20 years, because of the bowl effect, you could not see their faces just the tops of their heads. We had an island in the middle to put something from the current years parade theme, but it was very limiting. We also had a back panel that shot up in the back. Last years theme was the 80's. We did E.T. and our principal dressed up like Elliott. He sat on a bike with a crate on the front. That's why you see the moon in the background. As you can see from the photo the float looked like junk.

Well for the past three years, the entire time I have been on the committee, I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to revamp the float and to restore it to it's former glory. It was not until this year that I have established enough leverage to make the request for a complete overhaul of the float. I had to change some ideologies because there are a few teachers who helped make the high sides and ends. We are not allowing any of the students to ride on the float this year or in the future. We are moving forward.

We started the morning by busting the bowl off of the float base. I wanted to turn it into a flatbed again. Now with the top gone you can see whatever you want to as the float goes past. Man, sometimes I feel like a big boat rocker who is changing the way we do things all the time around here. I don't hear people complaining about it, but I feel like maybe I should take a step back. I just see things clearly and I have visions on how they should be done. Staying inside the rut and going with status quo, which was established a long time ago is not always a good thing. This years theme is downtown.