For Now, Anyway, Big Purple Dinosaur Is King Of The Carnival
Motorists heading north on Pines Road couldn’t miss it.
Looming beside the road was a 25-foot inflatable feline, accompanied by a 6-foot purple tyrannosaurus grasping a fistful of balloons.
It was one of those rare moments when media mascots abandoned all rivalries. The KDRK cat and Barney the dinosaur had joined forces, advancing the cause of Super Saturday, a community carnival sponsored by Opportunity Presbyterian Church.
Motorists slowed as they passed the spectacle at 202 N. Pines Road. Some honked, others drove in.
The lot began to fill up around 10 a.m. Many of the rigs parked, though, were in the show.
Rick Carnegie’s ride was the biggest hit. He had a maroon 1906 Ford Model N, sporting brass trim and a mirror finish. It was a looker, no doubt.
Maintenance was an omnipresent concern with such a classic, though. Carnegie looked down at the puddle of oil already collecting beneath his car.
“If you want to go touring on Saturday, you’d better work on the car Friday,” he said.
Carnegie walked off to see the other festive wonders. Just then, a kid stole up beside the car, honked its oversized bike horn, and scampered off laughing.
A group of the Valley’s finest had collected a few feet away, but resisted the temptation to cuff him. Sheriff’s deputies had brought the DARE van, and the Valley Fire Department had their trucks to show off.
They weren’t milling around like the 60 or so onlookers, they were talking among themselves, probably about Code IIIs and other stuff you catch snippets of on T.J. Hooker.
It was now time for the music. Billy Reynolds fired up his high-wattage karaoke machine, singing the lyrics that passed across a small monitor in front of him.
Clad in a Hawaiian shirt and turquoise cowboy hat, he belted out tunes with a very Willie Nelson-esque vibrato.
Jane Hussey wandered about in a clown outfit, offering balloons and candy to anyone who came near. Another clown, known only as Dr. M.T. Shrink, painted faces, told jokes and did magic tricks.
“I have a hole in my head. I have to wear a hat all the time so I don’t drown,” went his patter. He placed a ball on his crown, and put his tophat on over it. The ball came shooting out of his mouth. “See?”
Folks lined up at the food table for 50-cent hot dogs served up by Nancy Shatto. Her 7-year-old son, Ian, wielded a balloon sword Doc made for him. He reached across the food table, dueling with another little swashbuckler.
Nick and Shelly Van were looking over a silver 1957 Sunbeam Alpine roadster. Their children, Lauren, 3; and Nicholas, 7; wanted to climb in. “Heyheyhey -” Dad started.
Another truckful of firefighters, latecomers, pulled in. Paramedic Jeff Powell hopped out. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do at this thing.
Spying the throng of kids tugging at Barney, he shrugged. “Barney the purple dinosaur? We can’t compete with that!”
Barney continued to wave and stroll streetside, occasionally being saved from extinction by folks who said with a nudge, “There’s a car pulling in, Barney.”
Don’t worry, firefighters, your day will come.
Barney looked a little slimmer Saturday than he has on TV. The weather is getting colder.
Soon you mammals will have free run of things.
, DataTimes