It must have been around 8 or 9 years old. Old enough that I could ride the rides, but not too old where an amusement park birthday would have seemed lame.
The kid’s name was Mike (last name preserved for privacy’s sake after all). The rumor from mutual friends was that his cousin owned the place. To think that boys talked about these things in elementary school strikes me as funny now, but I was on my way to party regardless.
You see, I had been to the place before. But to have a party with POP bracelets (Pay One Price, get all the rides included) was beyond cool. Pizza and video games also. Who knew that all of the kids would get a few bucks in quarters??
The Pirate Ship? Check.
The swing? Check.
Gravitron? Check.
As my own children are heading to this park today, I dredge up what memories I have left. I am 40 years old now. This park was standing before I could remember and it is still there. Your friendly local amusement park. There are still video games. There are still POP bracelets. Now my wife is taking my kids there.
Strangely, there has been some tragedy at this amusement park- at least that’s what my wife remembers. My memories drift back to being in my 20s and thinking that the place was dangerous. I think about places like amusement parks- joy interlaced with fear, elation blended with just enough terror to make it memorable. What kind of energy swirls around a place like that, and does the place hold it? Can we tap into it when we are there? Is that why we get excited when we go through the gates?
Questions, there are many. Memories, they are long. Fun, I wish they all have today.
