Roller Coasters

          A couple of weeks ago, I went to an amusement park with a group of friends.  Worlds of Fun boasted descriptions like “Tallest,” “Fastest,” and even “Meanest” on billboards along the side of the highway twenty miles before we even got to the actual park.  Now I should probably mention that while I do not particularly enjoy roller coasters, I decided to tag along on the group outing since my choice of floating in a pool with a pitcher of sangria seemed boring to my friends who are obviously adrenaline junkies.  It’s not like I scare easily, I did survive my childhood virtually unscathed, physically at least.  I would just prefer having my feet firmly planted on the ground, tucked safely inside a pair of comfy shoes instead of, for example, cliff diving into waters that (in my mind) are clearly shark-infested.

                While my closest friends would argue that I am somewhat of a control-freak who tends to go a little nuts when the smallest detail of his perfectly planned life goes astray, I instead see myself as someone who simply sees the beauty in stability.  I don’t feel the need to ride something called “The Prowler,” when, as many of you are aware, I tend to date them.

                Once parked precariously between two high school busses and a thousand miles and a hundred degrees from the entrance, we unpacked ourselves from the car and began the trek towards a promised fun day getaway…according to ten of the highway billboards.  Cheerful music was piped into the parking lot from speakers shaped like various objects such as rocks and plastic shrubbery where I only assume the purpose was to make the mile and a half line more like an attraction and to perhaps take the financial sting out of the forty dollar ticket price.

                Once inside the park, the loops of twisted metal and steel rose above me and all I could hear were deafening screams of terror intermingled with the pungent smell of vomit coming from the sidewalk below.  This made me remember a recent and short-lived relationship where I had met someone that swept me off my feet and took my breath away.  For a few weeks he said all the right things, did all the right stuff and even managed to work in a few perfect moments.  A week after that he just disappeared.  No telephone call, no text message, he just left me scratching my head and my friends wondering what happened. 

                Just like those roller coasters, a new relationship is wonderful and scary all wrapped up in a terrifying splendor of mixed emotions that I had successfully avoided for a very long time.  So long in fact, that I had forgotten how much fun the ride could be.  Although we never know if those brand new relationships will turn out to leave us lying in a heap of twisted emotional carnage or give us the ride of our lives, it is far better than looking up and watching as everyone else experiences the thrill.