The Beet Goes On

Today was the 4^th of July in the small but lively town of Rutland, Massachusetts. It may only have one stop light, which is actually a stop sign masquerading as something more interesting in the form of a blinking red, but it pulls out all the stops for town events. The theme of this year's $th of July parade was “The Beat Goes On”. As a local farm, we naturally had no choice but to take the literal interpretation and construct a 15 ft. beet mounted atop a flat bed trailer, complete with a protruding leafy stalk which gave us a few scares as we neared low hanging power lines. Beneath the hovering beet, baby goats and the friendly lamb, Dexter, frolicked about eating hay and bleating to the crowds.

Two goat farmers, complete with plaid shirts, overalls, straw hats and dried grass for chewing were also tending their flock in the shadow of the giant beet. Finally, the sides of the float were adorned with signs that read "Heifer International is out to BEET hunger and poverty"...!

Above: midpoint of beet construction

Above: Rutland Parade!

I had the honor of playing one of these farmers with my lovely housemate and member of the livestock crew, Audrey. As we are in fact farmers, this came easily. Our role as float celebrities included lots of smiling, waving, showing off baby goats, and busting moves to Gloria Estefan's “Turn the Beat Around,” as well as hits such as “We Got the Beat” and “Beat It”. Don't tell me that doesn't deserve a good chuckle. There was also no shortage of “I'm on a Float” references.