I had the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream today and participate in Lubbock's 4th on Broadway parade. Truth be told, I'd been in one as a child but this time was different. This time, not only was I supporting an organization that I've grown attached to these last 11 months (Red Cross), but I got to do so while driving our Emergency Response Vehicle, or ERV.

This was perhaps the most uncomfortable I've been behind the wheel in quite some time. Riding the brake at 2mph with the ERV's limited leg room meant holding my leg in the air, with my knee bent at 45 degrees, for an hour. Add to that children dashing in from of the truck looking for candy, very limited visibility, and the fact that I've been qualified to drive this beast for less than two weeks, and it was a very, very tiring drive.

Two events made the pain worth while. We were driving behind several radio station vans that were capturing the crowd's attention by tossing chips into the crowd. What struck me, though, was that when we approached everyone stopped what they were doing the started to clap and cheer. I heard one girl off on the left remark that she was from New Orleans and a little while later I heard a mother refer to us as "heroes" to her son. It was all I could do to keep from crying. I don't volunteer with the Red Cross for recognition, and the thanks we get from our clients are all the pay I need, but it was very, very touching to receive praise from people we'd never met.

I mentioned a second event. As we approached the judge's stand I noticed that the MC was an old friend with whom I'd lost contact, Sean Donahue. I caught his attention and the next thing I heard was Sean remarking to the crowd, "Hey! I know the driver. That's Bill Curnow!" The clapping was heart warming, but the name recognition was just darned cool. It definitely made the next couple of blocks a little easier to drive.

To be honest, my Red Cross tank had been running on fumes lately, but today definitely filled it up. This really is a great place to live.