HoCo Behind The Scenes: The Bridge Story of Journalism Kids

As everyone was setting up and getting everything prepared for the Homecoming Parade, Beth Musto ‘26, Cody Abney ‘25, Lucas de Lima, ‘25, and Ryan Harris, ‘25 had a little “fun” while going over to Sierra Vista.

By: Alex Neal

On Friday, October 4th, Redwood students and staff were preparing for the Homecoming parade.

Throughout the day, kids were excused from one of their classes while some of them were excused all day.

This year was the Gigantea’s first year in the parade. Some students signed up to help decorate the bikes that were going to be ridden by Journalism students.

After they were decorated, Beth Musto, ‘26, Cody Abney, ‘25, Lucas de Lima, ‘25, and Ryan Harris, ‘25, took their bikes to the bridge during 3rd period so they could put their bikes in the baseball field on Sierra Vista.

When they got to the bridge though, there was a little issue that caused them to carry their bikes over the bridge.

Musto said, “The gate was closed to go under the bridge, and we didn’t even see admin around. There was no one.”

de Lima said, “It was in the middle of class, and we just had to use our strength and get it over the bridge. Got to do what you go to do, right?”

Abney said something similar when he said, “It’s because the gate wasn’t open, and there was no one there to open it for us, so we just had to do it.”

Since class was in session the bridge wasn’t open and there wasn’t a staff member present to unlock the gate.

As going under the bridge wasn’t an option, the only other way they could get to Sierra Vista was by going over it.

Musto said, “We had literally picked up our bikes and started walking.  I was just following the boys. Whatever they did I was going to do.” 

They did what they had to do to get to the other side.

Abney said, “It wasn’t hard, it wasn’t easy, but I’d say it took effort, but not that much effort.”

Harris said, “Well, nothing comes easy in life. You gotta work for what you got. I worked. It wasn’t easy, but I worked and I got to the top.” He also said, “Yes, it took a lot of effort. I’ve worked hard. I got to the top.”

For some, carrying a bike over a bridge isn’t hard and takes little effort while it’s hard for others and takes more effort. Or it’s in the middle for some people.

For some people it may be hard because they can be clumsy or trip easily. Musto said, “The hard part for me was carrying it up, because I’m clumsy. So I was afraid I was gonna trip, and then there goes my bike, and then there goes me. But the easy part was going down honestly.”

She was also scared of the balloons on the bike popping and the newspapers falling off the bike. She said, “It’s kind of wild.”

Afterwards, Abney said, “I was kind of upset because I got stuff on my knee.”

de Lima said, “Well, we were a little ticked off that the gate underneath the bridge wasn’t open, but I mean, what do you expect? Something’s always going to happen on Homecoming Day. It’s a crazy day. So we just roll with the punches and yeah, now we’re here with all the other floats around.”

Abney and de Lima were upset because of their experience of carrying bikes over the bridge. Hopefully they weren’t traumatized.

Harris on the other hand said, “I felt like, I just climbed Mount Everest. I mean, I felt great. I mean, it was great. I climbed to the top.”

For Harris carrying his bike over the bridge was an accomplishment and he felt great about it. He was able to accomplish something great.

Musto was tired but proud of herself for getting it over the bridge. She was happy that she got it over.

Abney said, “It took about three to five minutes.”

Based on the information provided by Abney and de Lima the trip over the bridge didn’t take too long.

But Harris made it seem quicker when he said it took him 35 seconds. He must have been speedrunning it.

Musto said that it probably took about a minute but it felt like forever.

For de Lima it was worth it, even if it did take time and energy to get to their destination. He said, “Nothing’s easy, but I’m willing to do it and the parade’s going to be awesome.”

After the parade the four of them had to once again carry their bikes over a set stairs. Those stairs were the English building stairs.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation remember these wise words said by Harris, “Because the gate was locked there was only one way up. When you are at the bottom, you have to find a way to climb to the top. That’s what we did.”

Tags: clubs & lifestyles, homecoming, journalism kids, parade, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, Redwood Homecoming, redwood journalism, rhs, rhs homecoming, rhs sierra vista, visalia ca