Park ranger fired after dancing on the job takes his jig to YouTube

Deryl Nelson

A park ranger fired after dancing on the job has taken his fancy footwork to YouTube.

Deryl Nelson was let go from his job at Coolidge Park late last month after a parkgoer posted a video on Facebook of him dancing in uniform on the parking lot.

He said he's danced for years to bring joy to visitors.

And he's not going to stop.

In the last two weeks, he opened a public YouTube account to show off his moves.

Three videos have been posted there. In the first, he smokes a cigar and dances to 'Banana Boat' "for my granddaughters."

Yesterday, shortly after media reports first appeared of the firing and a public campaign to give him his job back emerged, Nelson posted a third video, 'Happy.'

He shared the video to his Facebook page, adding: "This is my song and nothing going to bring me down. I LOVE LIFE and I LOVE DANCING!"

Update at 7 a.m., June 22: The videos have been removed from public viewing on Nelson's YouTube account, although one additional video is still available here.