let's just say my ride thus far is a wee bit of a rollercoaster ride- complete with peeks, valleys, and many loops. it has been thrilling at times, anticipated at others, and often nauseating for one reason or another.
sometimes i want to ride in the front car- arms raised- screaming with enthusiasm.
sometimes i want to ride in the rear-most car, gripping the bar with white-knuckles, praying it will slow to a stop so i can exit.
but most of the time, i am riding somewhere in between, hearing the shrieks of those who can see more than i, and smooshing/getting smooshed by the stranger i'm sitting next to as we round each bend.
i want off the rollercoaster ride. for good.
maybe another carnival amusement would suit me better:
i love the carousel, but never seem to get the brass ring. i got the go-round, minus the merry. enough of that. sure was pretty though.
i always loved the giant swings, but that's almost too predictable. although they are tinged with danger- as i may fly off at any moment. so close.
about the teacups, although sweet-sounding, are evil and made me puke the only time i ever lost lunch at an amusement park. ironically poetic i think. but, seriously... that ride had it out for me, was spinning out of control at immeasurable speeds. immeasurable speeds.
the pirate/viking ship sounds cooler than it is, although i do enjoy the moments of suspended gravity, and the wind in my face. and who doesn't love pirates &/or vikings? that's right, no-one.
house of mirrors.
been there. done that.
no thanks.
ferris wheels are always the most romantic, and have a great view, but are too short-lived. [insert crappy ferris wheel heartache or humiliation story here. cue the audience: awwwww.]
bumper cars are okay. just okay. over-rated i think.
i like the super-slide, but if the filthy burlap sack which is acting as my under-side support, gets away from me, and it always does, i'm left with a leg-burn something awful. yowch! red for days.
log flumes are just the best summer amusement park fun ever. unless i am wearing a thin white t-shirt. what was i thinking that august day back in '87? i no longer wear white. at all.
related or not- you decide.
tilt-a-whirl represents, perhaps, the dervish-esque chaos i feverishly experience in my tilt-a-world... en carnivalian representation. and it's a vom-maker. nice.
i have also experienced accidents vicariously at the theme park.
when i was in my early 20's, one man fell out of the newest superhero ride in n'jersey at great adventure. the rollercoaster car was locked in place in mid-loop at the pinnacle. he fell, but didn't die. people dangled from 200 feet up in the air as "park rangers" retrieved them.
great adventure indeed.
we waited in near silence 3+ more hours in line to get on. talk about thrill-seekers. or idiots.
sign me up. for both.
as i got onto the death trap coaster i had two thoughts in my head:
1) the odds of that happening to me are less than a fraction of minuscule. one man already fell out today.
and
2) who cares?
it was a pretty awesome ride though.
and i adore a good story.
the other time was when i was 15. i was at a chintzy carnival, enjoying some unhealthy snackage and witnessed some guy get knocked in the head by a spinning/flailing arm of the dreaded octopus ride. blood and mayhem ensued. me and my pals ran over to him and held his head up until the emergency people arrived. he was alright though. the medics said it was only a concussion, and that he was lucky. indeed he was lucky- i guess, but what does luck have to do with it anyhow?
maybe i should consider myself lucky. not because i have been spared the daunting mechanical octo-arms, but because i have a story of my own to tell, filled with ups and downs. so, maybe i get queasy from it time to time, and its uncertainty bugs me out... i still believe that life is better for me than a unveering scripted snooze.
now who is up for the sling-shot?
