Y2K5SRT
Enthusiast
Background: Some of you may remember my post from long ago about the local Viper football teams. Dodge Viper logos and everything. The pics are now gone (I suspect on the old VCA server), but the story is still a good one:
http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=112899
Anyway, the same lady who contacted me back then now does all of our club embroidery. You may have seen her handiwork if you went to VOI - all of the cool blue/white jerseys worn by the Kansas City club were done by her. Well, she asked if any Vipers would be interested in participating in one of the last "real" homecoming parades in Kansas City. This is a parade that goes by all of the feeder schools (four elementary schools, two middle schools, and one special needs school) and closes down the local roads. They do it on a Friday morning after rush hour and keep it to largely residential streets. I told her I would do my best to get some folks out, but that most might not be able to get away from work (I took an early lunch myself). They were still very excited, especially when they saw my car for the first time: Their team is the Yellowjackets!
Well, somehow I got talked into doing this eBay auction for one of our friends and was up working on it until 3:30 this morning. And I promised I would be at the high school by 7:30 - which was a good 30 minutes from my house with no traffic. So I wake up at 6:57 and it is raining. Great. Will they still have the parade? The answer the night before was "Yes, rain or shine." Sigh...
So I pulled myself together and made my way over to the high school for staging. And you already know how many Vipers showed up. Same number of Vettes, Porsches, etc. Zero. But hey, it was raining and I warned the organizers in advance. Of course I didn't realize until after I got home how cool these first pictures would look with the reflection in the water. So here I am upon arrival:
A different angle, another good reflection. Note that the Nash Metropolitan came with a clown (so did the Viper, or so my wife would say). The car further back under the cover is a BMW Z3. My fave was a '58 Jeepster that showed up after I shot this.
Now this parade has floats and all kinds of other fun stuff - 40+ vehicles in all. Turns out that they want me up front to take the Grand Marshal. They quickly found that the magnetic signs would not stick to the sides. Go figure! So it went on the dash instead. And just barely...
So the Grand Marshal turns out to be a great guy, the assistant superintendent for the district. He also turns out to be 6'5" and looks at this very low car like, "You have got to be kidding me!"
With the top up it was a little tight for him, but nothing major. Remember, it is raining so no top down - yet. Soon we are on our way with a police ******. It is interesting because they say that this may be the last year they are able to do the parade. Reason? The cost to bring in the police. It was something like $75 per hour, per cop. We had a couple cops in the back and one in a car. And how many leading? I made it easy for you:
So figure a three hour deal including the staging, etc. The rest of the math is easy. Needless to say, not easy on a budget when so much is already being cut in education. And despite the best laid plans, even the fleet of police couldn't prevent an accident right by the parade itself:
Well, we start making our way past the first schools and I am enjoying my talk with this very educated educator. He is fascinated by the Viper and pretty soon we are talking about seat lowering kits. Go figure.
The top is up for the first couple schools, and like the idiot I can be, I didn't take a single picture of the crowds at that point. The deal is that they let the entire school out to watch the parade as it comes by. Everything is timed almost perfectly. While the other cars and trucks honked, I did what a Viper does best: Make some nice rumbles with that V10. Needless to say, it was VERY popular. Even the superintendent turned to me and said, "You know, I don't think they give a crap about me - they love your car!" And they did indeed.
Anyway, we had to stop for about two minutes while our group collected between schools. I took that opportunity to put the top down, as the rain had pretty much stopped for the time being. I also snagged a couple photos:
Geez, you would think it was the first time I ever took a dang picture!
And with the fleet of police telling me it was time to go, there were no reshoots. As we were passing by one of the last schools, it dawned on me: Um, some pictures of the kids would be nice! Duh. So on this final pass I shot a blurry picture over the top of the windshield. This was about 1/100th of the kids we passed by. There were a TON!
So now I had to settle for taking pictures of people sitting on their porches for the parade. And to think I used to be good at this photography thing.
So, the parade comes to an end and all is well. I put the top back up (starting to rain again) and start back knowing that the Viper Club once again made a nice showing for the community. I have heard "VIPER!" shouted so many times that it echoes all the way home.
Of course I had some other things to keep me busy on the way back. Um, fellas? The parade is over and I was just teasing about the "fleet" comment...
http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=112899
Anyway, the same lady who contacted me back then now does all of our club embroidery. You may have seen her handiwork if you went to VOI - all of the cool blue/white jerseys worn by the Kansas City club were done by her. Well, she asked if any Vipers would be interested in participating in one of the last "real" homecoming parades in Kansas City. This is a parade that goes by all of the feeder schools (four elementary schools, two middle schools, and one special needs school) and closes down the local roads. They do it on a Friday morning after rush hour and keep it to largely residential streets. I told her I would do my best to get some folks out, but that most might not be able to get away from work (I took an early lunch myself). They were still very excited, especially when they saw my car for the first time: Their team is the Yellowjackets!
Well, somehow I got talked into doing this eBay auction for one of our friends and was up working on it until 3:30 this morning. And I promised I would be at the high school by 7:30 - which was a good 30 minutes from my house with no traffic. So I wake up at 6:57 and it is raining. Great. Will they still have the parade? The answer the night before was "Yes, rain or shine." Sigh...
So I pulled myself together and made my way over to the high school for staging. And you already know how many Vipers showed up. Same number of Vettes, Porsches, etc. Zero. But hey, it was raining and I warned the organizers in advance. Of course I didn't realize until after I got home how cool these first pictures would look with the reflection in the water. So here I am upon arrival:
You must be registered for see images
A different angle, another good reflection. Note that the Nash Metropolitan came with a clown (so did the Viper, or so my wife would say). The car further back under the cover is a BMW Z3. My fave was a '58 Jeepster that showed up after I shot this.
You must be registered for see images
Now this parade has floats and all kinds of other fun stuff - 40+ vehicles in all. Turns out that they want me up front to take the Grand Marshal. They quickly found that the magnetic signs would not stick to the sides. Go figure! So it went on the dash instead. And just barely...
You must be registered for see images
So the Grand Marshal turns out to be a great guy, the assistant superintendent for the district. He also turns out to be 6'5" and looks at this very low car like, "You have got to be kidding me!"
You must be registered for see images
With the top up it was a little tight for him, but nothing major. Remember, it is raining so no top down - yet. Soon we are on our way with a police ******. It is interesting because they say that this may be the last year they are able to do the parade. Reason? The cost to bring in the police. It was something like $75 per hour, per cop. We had a couple cops in the back and one in a car. And how many leading? I made it easy for you:
You must be registered for see images
So figure a three hour deal including the staging, etc. The rest of the math is easy. Needless to say, not easy on a budget when so much is already being cut in education. And despite the best laid plans, even the fleet of police couldn't prevent an accident right by the parade itself:
You must be registered for see images
Well, we start making our way past the first schools and I am enjoying my talk with this very educated educator. He is fascinated by the Viper and pretty soon we are talking about seat lowering kits. Go figure.
The top is up for the first couple schools, and like the idiot I can be, I didn't take a single picture of the crowds at that point. The deal is that they let the entire school out to watch the parade as it comes by. Everything is timed almost perfectly. While the other cars and trucks honked, I did what a Viper does best: Make some nice rumbles with that V10. Needless to say, it was VERY popular. Even the superintendent turned to me and said, "You know, I don't think they give a crap about me - they love your car!" And they did indeed.Anyway, we had to stop for about two minutes while our group collected between schools. I took that opportunity to put the top down, as the rain had pretty much stopped for the time being. I also snagged a couple photos:
You must be registered for see images
Geez, you would think it was the first time I ever took a dang picture!
You must be registered for see images
And with the fleet of police telling me it was time to go, there were no reshoots. As we were passing by one of the last schools, it dawned on me: Um, some pictures of the kids would be nice! Duh. So on this final pass I shot a blurry picture over the top of the windshield. This was about 1/100th of the kids we passed by. There were a TON!
You must be registered for see images
So now I had to settle for taking pictures of people sitting on their porches for the parade. And to think I used to be good at this photography thing.
You must be registered for see images
So, the parade comes to an end and all is well. I put the top back up (starting to rain again) and start back knowing that the Viper Club once again made a nice showing for the community. I have heard "VIPER!" shouted so many times that it echoes all the way home.
Of course I had some other things to keep me busy on the way back. Um, fellas? The parade is over and I was just teasing about the "fleet" comment...
You must be registered for see images
