Theme Park Nostalgia

On Saturday we returned the boys to their parents in Kentucky and stayed to go to Six Flags and an arena football game with them. Neither Chris nor I ride many rides, but we were happy to be hanging out with my brother and his family. I was explaining to my nephew Brent about how adults often have just as much fun watching kids have fun as the kids have in having the fun. I know that’s a strange concept for kids; I didn’t get it either when I was his age. Anyway, I think that we all had a good time at Six Flags. I haven’t been to a theme park in more years than I care to recall. I was very happy to see that they had really tall fans with misty water to help to cool everyone off. When did they start doing that? Great idea. The really annoying thing is that I had a headache all day yesterday, and instead of easing up, it just became continually worse until all I could do was collapse into bed. I tried very hard to refrain from letting my discomfort affect anyone else yesterday, and I think it worked out alright. And I did still manage to ride a few rides and have fun with everyone.

My brother, sister-in-law, and I all worked at Opryland in Nashville when we were teenagers. I actually still have my name tag. It’s extremely sad that it doesn’t still exist, especially since that’s where they met. Now a very large, somewhat pretentious mall stands in the spot, and Wayne and Laura can’t take their kids to the park and show them where they met and began to fall in love. I was thinking that some day that will happen to the apartments where Chris and I live. They are fine now, but they don’t really seem to be structures that will stand the test of time. Those units are individually owned, and someday a bunch of people will lose a lot of money when those buildings have to go. Chris and I rent, so we won’t really be out of anything except for years of rent payments that could have gone to pay on a mortgage. But our time to own a house has yet to come….

Anyway, back to Opryland. I loved working there. It was only for one summer, and my job consisted mostly of scooping ice cream in the Mayfield ice cream parlor. However, the best part was the fact that I could stay in the park when I finished my shift and play with my work friends. We would wander around flirting with boys, snagging free food from our friends, and hopping on the rides with wild abandon. Oh, to be young(er) and to be able to ride a roller coaster over and over with no side effects. It’s strange how those memories are so vivid even now. A little of the Grizzly Rampage still stands; I don’t know why they didn’t take it down. As for the rest of the park, I can only visit there in my dreams.