Part 4: Slightly Queasy and Frazzled
We survived The Sasquatch, quite impressed with ourselves for having the balls to ride the very thing we were afraid of. Acacia's reasoning had made sense. It was better get it over with right away, than put it off and give ourselves time to change our minds. We rode what we were afraid of the most, and started our day with a bang.
We briefly debated what to ride next, and somehow it was decided that we would ride The Boomerang Coast to Coast roller coaster. At this point in my life, I'd only ridden this coaster twice, once when I was ten, and again when I was twelve. Both experiences had been rather traumatizing for me, and as a result, my opinion of the ride had been a low one for many years, bolstered by the fact that a kid had become paralyzed after falling out of the ride. But now I realized, that if I could ride The Sasquatch and survive, then I could ride The Boomerang.
But before I rode anything else, I desperately needed to use a bathroom. So we wandered around Storytown, looking for a bathroom to use. We may even have wandered into the Fest Area (which looks like a classic carnival). As we searched, I took in the familiar sights, noticing that even with the new rides, the park looked very much the same as it ever was. Storytown was still very pretty, if not a little careworn. I also noticed that food and games were ridiculously expensive, much to my disgust.
After finding and using a bathroom (I'm sure you don't want to hear the details about that), we made our way back to the Boomerang. It was dreadfully hot, and terribly uncomfortable, but thankfully not as crowded as I'd thought it would be. While we walked, I noticed the Cinderella Coach ride. Standing in front of it, was Cinderella herself, trapped in her pretty blue gown. I think it was a prom dress, in a bright shade of blue, a hybrid of cyan and aqua. In hindsight, all this reminds me a lot of the book called The Dress Lodger, whose main character, named Gustine, is a potter's assistant by day, and a prostitute by night, decked out in a splendid blue gown provided by her landlord. Gustine spends her nights, exposed to inclement weather for hours at a time, waiting for customers to come and use her. Is the park employee not similar, in her beautiful blue gown, having to stand for hours in sweltering heat, waiting for park guests to come over and marvel at her beauty and ride in her coach? Boldly, I asked her if it was terribly hot in that gown, if surely she was not in some discomfort.
She stayed in character the whole time, replying in a sweet voice that it wasn't that bad (more acting I wonder?). We struck up a conversation with her, the girl never faltering in her smile and her princess voice, as we discussed the new ride, which she had heard you could view Lake George from if you sat just right. Yes, she is like Gustine, in a way. She must never show her discomfort or displeasure in her position. Being the Great Escape Cinderella can't be that bad can it now? You get to dress up, you look pretty and you certainly don't have to clean vomit. But unlike Gustine, I don't think she has to have sex with nameless, faceless men every night. I may have mentioned this before, I may even have mentioned it to Acacia that day, that throughout the years while the park Cinderella may change- be a different girl, in a different dress (though it's always a blue one), with different glass slippers, she is essentially the same girl. The park always casts a girl with light colored hair, either a light brown or a blond. Her eyes are probably light as well, and she is usually thin.
After leaving Cinderella, we finally made it to the Boomerang. When I first rode it ten years ago, it had been painted teal, a soothing color that was slowly fading with time. Someone must have decided that this blue-green hue belied the fierceness of the ride, for now it was painted red and yellow. Shiny and new. It looked much better. The Boomerang, as far as coasters go, is pretty small, but its power lies in the fact that it goes backwards and forwards, the origin of its name. It drags you backwards up a steep slope, launches you downhill, and then you go through some loops and twists. Then you're dragged up another slope, parallel to the first and then you repeat the ride in reverse.
The line was not as long as it could have been, but it was still a bitch to wait in. It was hot, as I mentioned, so hot that my denim Capris were sticking to my body. I was starting to feel fussy, the way a small child would feel. Acacia, bless her sweet soul, put her arms around me and spoke soothingly to me. She told me we would go to the water park after the Boomerang, which sounded really really good. The only catch, was that she left her bathing suit in the car and we would have to go back and get it. When I started to fret about that, she began to soothe me all over again. She is really very good at that, soothing me when I panic.
Whenever I'm in line for something, I people watch. It is a habit of mine. I noticed the women behind us were incredibly dressed up for an amusement park.Wearing nice clothes, makeup, gold jewelry and painful looking sandals. I don't get it, why do you need to be so dressed up for The Great Escape? Sure, I had earrings on and some nifty accessories, but I was wearing comfy clothes and sneakers and no makeup. I'm on my feet all day, and the makeup will just get washed off in the water park. I stared at their feet, wondering how they could walk around in dressy sandals all day. Practice, probably.
Soon enough it was our turn to get on the roller coaster. We put our glasses in our bags, and got in a car somewhere in the middle of the train. We pulled the shoulder restraints down, and I made sure that mine was pushed down as tightly as it could go; I wasn't taking any chances. I was incredibly nervous, more than nervous, downright terrified. But there was no turning back, I would not chicken out.
The cars began to move up the hill slowly. I tried to remain calm, but soon found my panic setting in. To keep myself calm, I began to sing to myself, an old Pagan song my mother had sung to me as a child. I wondered if it made the people behind me uncomfortable.
The cars had stopped moving, and we were now in that terrible pause right before the roller coaster drops. I was terrified. I felt dizzy, and because of the angle of the slope, I felt like I was slipping out of my seat. This was the worst part, being stuck high in the air, at the very top of the hill, not moving, choking on my fear. It was hot up there, and my vision was blurry without my glasses. I felt utterly helpless.
Finally the coaster dropped, speeding down the hill. My stomach dropped to my knees, and I screamed in fear and exhilaration. The cars rushed past the operating station, and went through one of the twists, turning us upside down. Then, it twisted again, swooped down and went through a loop, during which I screamed to Jesus. The whole thing was very quick and very exciting. It seems I had overcome my fear of the Boomerang after all!
Then the ride began it's trip up the second slope, to start it's backwards journey. This was a little less scary, because I couldn't see my ascent, only feel it. Then the cars dropped, and we repeated the ride, only backwards. It was a lot of fun going backwards, but I still found myself shouting "Holy Mary Mother of God!" at the top of my lungs, and reciting a few Catholic prayers, despite the fact that I'm Pagan.
The ride ended when it pulled itself halfway up the first hill, then settled back into the station slowly, in a manner that again, reminded me of death throes. It was over. The restraints released themselves, and we climbed out of the car, I was slightly queasy and frazzled, but throughly entertained. We put our glasses back on, and walked away from the Boomerang. I felt like a champion. I had conquered the beast and won.
No comments:
Post a Comment