We Had a Mental Breakdown!

It was a beautiful day for a parade. The sun was out and there was a nice breeze. It was warm, but it wasn't August warm.

Volunteers from MHA, along with representatives from about 90 other organizations, had gathered in the field behind the newly-remodeled Wilson school for the Jaycees Community Parade for the United Way.

Through the generosity of the Kiwanis Club of Granville, MHA had an actual float to decorate. I don't speak fluent parade so I will probably use the wrong terminology, but this thing had gold fringe and red, white & blue tufted siding on the walls that lined the wagon that is used for hayrides in the off-season. At the back of the float was a wall that was ideally suited for the MHA banner.

MHA Board member, Dave Douglas had already had a full day by the time he arrived to pull the float for the parade. He began the morning in Granville by helping to assemble the float. He then delivered the float to the Wilson school staging area and then went home for a wash and brush-up and to give his vehicle a quick spruce-up. Like so many others, Mr. Douglas had been without power for most of the previous week.

To pull the float, Mr. Douglas brought his wife Pat's Jeep. It was not one of those station wagon style SUVs, but more like its famous military forebearer with a removeable soft top and sides. For being 9 years old, the Jeep was in immaculate shape and drew the attention of fellow enthusiast, Jude Hoover, who was also participating in the parade with his Jeep.

Throughout the morning, the field filled up with the vehicles and floats for the parade. What had been virtually empty at 10:00 am was quite crowded by noon and appeared to be overflowing by the time they stepped off at 2:00 pm.

As the field filled up, so too did the MHA float. In addition to staff members and youth participants in our YES and PAVE programs, Ms. Judi Watts, a member of the Board of Trustees, showed up to ride in the parade.

Responsible for keeping the parade organized were the marshals. They spent most of the morning zipping across the Wilson field in ATVs and talking into their chirping squirrel phones. Each new parade participant was assigned to a lettered column and, when the time came, that would dictate their place in the parade.

MHA was assigned to column D. We were to follow Newark City Council member Shirley Stare and be followed by Newark City Council member Rick Henderson.

At the appointed hour, the marshals gave the signal and, led by a color guard of police and military, the parade stepped off for its trip down Church St. to the Courthouse Square.

Mr. Douglas elected to take advantage of the Jeep's 4-wheel drive in order to pull the float into the street. It went smoothly into gear and when he reached the street, he went to shift out of 4-wheel drive and that's when it happened.

Mr. Douglas was able to shift out of 4-wheel, but because a pin dropped out of some place in the transmission linkage, he was unable to shift into anything else. So the float was in the street, but it couldn't go anywhere. With the rest of the parade passing us by, we literally had a mental breakdown.

Meanwhile, down on the Square, the first elements of the parade had reached Third St. and made the turn south toward the Square. There were cheerleaders and flag corps, politicians and candidates, local businesses and local United Way agencies. And then there was Ms. Stare, and then there was Mr. Henderson, and then there was the rest of the parade. And then there was a little panic.

A photographer had been assigned to capture the MHA float as it passed in front of Newark's courthouse. She knew when to expect the float and when she didn't see it, was certain that she must have missed it. How could they have passed her by without her noticing?

Fortunately, Mr. Douglas was able to reach his wife by phone and she brought their pick-up truck in to pull the float. The changeover was made and the MHA float, led by Paddy Kutz under her golf-size blue and white MHA umbrella, was the last unit in the parade.

We are very lucky to have been able to participate in the parade and more fortunate that we have the help of dedicated staff and volunteers to make these opportunities happen. Now that we know what to expect, we look forward to next year when we will finish closer to the front of the line.

Graham Campbell

Associate Director

Mental Health America of Licking County