After reliving a few childhood memories on the monkey bars of Grady Playground, and looking rather ridiculous in the process, I thought, Hey. Let’s go home. Yes, I sometimes, in my head, refer to myself as the collective we. What’s good enough for the Queen of England is good enough for us, after all.
But, as so often happens on my walks, I got hungry and so headed down to Brighton Beach Boulevard for a knish and seltzer. When in Rome, you know. Paper bag in hand, I found a spot on the beach to picnic. Well not really on the beach, but on a bench on a cement platform that overlooked the beach. What a view!
Lovely
As I was enjoying my delicious pocket of potato and pillowy dough, a city employee asked me how my day was going while sweeping up cigarette butts from the sand. “Pretty good,” I said, and feeling in a sharing mood, “but I wanted to go to that amusement park,” and pointed yonder towards the rides. “Oh Lunatic Park?” he asked. Now, it’s actually called Luna Park, but obviously, his being the far superior name for it, I didn’t interject. “Yeah,” opens tomorrow,” he continued, “but the Cyclone’s going.”
“Wha?!” I stuffed the rest of the knish in my mouth and wished him good-bye.
Proof of intelligent life on Earth
Hastily walking down the board walk, I soon heard the rumble of climbing roller coaster cars, then, the scream. That could have been me already! Expecting a long line of preteens with cotton candy ahead, I almost broke into a jog. Yet, to my surprise, there was no one. I waltzed right in.
It’d been years since I’d been on a roller coaster, and perched above the drop I thought, “oh yeah, this is why,” then I screamed for awhile. The whole time really.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh!
I look good in that one. Right?
Next time: Petanque: the game even Napoleon outlawed.
You bring me back. Sixty-five years ago, there were two rides that made Coney Island the place to go: one was the Cyclone which you properly celebrate; the other was the horse race in Steeplechase, where you rode wildly painted horses in an electric-powered race against seven or eight others. The immediate effect of the Cyclone was tremendous, but, long term, the thrills of the race remain deeper in my heart.
Thanks Bill! I didn’t see the horse race, but I’ll have to go back and look for it. Hopefully, it’s still there, it sounds amazing.
As always Lorissa – your adventures and stories thereof are such a treasure to read – and make me laugh out loud
Love the “proof of intelligent life” cyclone photo caption too. Thanks for the virtual ride! Robbie