Just prior to their first public appearance in East Tennessee, Nukie Nuclear Power Plant employees experienced a sudden power outage.
The power outage had nothing to do with nuclear power… but I
couldn’t resist that headline! It’s just the type of sensationalized news I’ve
grown accustomed to seeing when it comes to nuclear power plants.
The only thing our power outage had to do with nuclear power is that it prevented us from lighting up the giant hard hat our lab rat-inspired parade float (jeep) was wearing. It did not prevent us from shining a light on nuclear literacy or wowing the children lining the streets of Kingston, Tennessee.
Riding atop our Chubby jeep was Tickles Tabitha the character from my children's book about cancer. My daughter
Tabitha portrayed her children’s book self; I sat in back and tossed out
candy. My son Jordan was our driver.
I don’t remember when I got the bright idea to turn my son’s
green jeep into a white lab rat, but I spent Thanksgiving doing it.
Everything was good to go or so we thought
until we cranked up the jeep and turned on the power supply that- according to
our in-house experts- was plenty powerful enough to light up our lights.
Instead they blinked and went out.
As they say, the show must go on… so we took off all our Christmas lights
and fell in line behind the Senior Citizen transit bus!
Despite not having any Christmas lights, the kids loved Tickles Tabitha and Chubby. As it turned out, the adults did too. The Monday morning after the parade weekend, I received a notification from Kingston Tennessee’s Park and Recreation Department that our parade entry won grand prize!
Chubby Rat along with Tickles Tabitha received the
prestigious Mayor’s Award. While I’m not
going to brag about how much, it was a CASH reward which we invested promptly
in a larger more powerful inverter for the jeep.
Nutcracker Publishing's next parade is December 12, in the Secret City, known
as Oak Ridge, Tennessee. With any luck
there will be no power outage, and parade bystanders will be blinded by nuclear
literacy radiance and #Christmas lights!
The
Kingston Tennessee City Council sponsored the parade float competition and
floats were judged on the following criteria:
1. Was
a theme covered?
2. Are
there any special effects to enhance it?
3. Does
it incorporate a unique or creative idea?
4. How
is the public appeal? Does the crowd seem to relate to it?
The
following award-winners were announced:
Mayor’s
Award Nutcracker
Publishing Company
Council’s
Award Starnes Wood Stove and Patio
Store
Band
Award Roane County High School
Youth
Award Tri County Roll Arena
Honorable
Mention Dr. James Walmsley, DDS
Church
Award Impact Church
