Summer vacation

November 19, 2012
On my summer vacation, I, my brother, and some friends decided to go to an amusement park because it was a church kid’s break after all we had done. But after that day I never thought about roller coaster the same, because that day I rode the Titan. Taking hairpin turns and completing death-defying loops. Your heart is in your throat and your stomach is somewhere near your shoes. The only thing separating you from total disaster is a safety bar . . . but are you really in danger? I have always been captivated by roller coasters, yet before that day I had never rode one. I am pretty sure I gagged when I was staring at both of the rides and my brother slapped me across the back. My brother and my friends laughed at me. And yet it still surprises me that ordinary people eagerly trade in the stillness of the ground for a chance to be tossed around in the air like water coming out of a sprinkler. It amazes me that in some point in time, someone thought that people would enjoy this. But when we all buckled up only my brother was grinning.

Then it changed for all of us after we heard that loud click and you know you can only go forward. When my hand started cramping and going black blue I realized I was gripping the guard a little too hard. As we made the climb up I forced myself to calm down and look at the other rides or at the new Cowboy’s stadium. When I heard the next click, I learned that the chain that carries coaster up is over and here now about to go down. Why did I let my brother and my friends force me to the front. Free-fall, or airtime, was felt by me and the other riders in the front cars of the coaster train while the back still creeps. The force of twisting tracks, loops and turns sent chills through my body. It is precisely the thrill and excitement of having survived the fateful first experience roller coaster ride. Amusement park rides use physics laws to simulate danger, while the rides themselves are typically very safe, why not ride one. But when I rode the Titan in the front I was the one in the front with my friend Noah. It’s a whole new story when you ride the front of the Titan because going up and over two-hundred fifty five feet of fun and craziness and down two-hundred fifty feet is death-defying.

Why had I survived the death defying plunges to the ground, a ride on a roller coaster never failed to excite me after that day. The first ride on one of these fantastic beasts gave me a rush of adrenaline. Although I am becoming older and have less time to play, the child like thrill I have on a roller coaster continues with each and every ride. Roller coasters are a somewhat like life, sharp turns, brief moments atop steep hills and the descending plunge toward the ground, only to take the rider back up, and go through it all again. Once the ride was over, I knew I was addicted to this racing monstrosity. Ever since that first glance, my imagination has always made me think of roller coasters as gargoyle’s, carrying off their screaming passengers. The ride gaining momentum, and the resistance to gravity built up against my body until I was not able to move. Then there came the stomach turning weightlessness as the animal descended toward the ground. Some screams being loud enough to curl your toes. As the death defying ride started, butterflies fluttered in my stomach, as if they were trying to escape from a small jar. Riding roller coaster is FUN.