With a variety of roller coasters to choose from, we go to the first one we come upon – “The Bat.” A ride that first drags you backwards up a ramp, lets you go until you end up forwards on a parallel ramp where you stop. You’re then let go to experience the same track backwards. We line up for the ride in quite a lengthy straight line which winds and winds until we are herded into twenty or so lanes where we wait for our turn to have some fun. To diffuse any anxiety about the ride, we talk and joke to one another. When the coaster pulls in and thuds to a stop, I quickly examine the looks on the riders’ faces. They vary from small children almost in tears and full of regret to grown men either laughing at the pitiful ride or faking this very well and using all their strength to avoid regurgitating in front of everybody. I run to my seat and hop in. I pull the rubber brace over my head and press it to my chest. I assume and hope that there is some form of metal at the core of the rubber or else its purpose is unclear. As the ride commences, we are pulled backwards and up a steep slope. I decide to take off my glasses and hold them like a vice. The coaster reaches the top and clicks to a stop. The riders hear and feel the brake release and we all hurdle towards the base of the incline. I am ashamed to admit that by this time I have closed my eyes and now only know the ride as a series of jerks and bumps. With each sharp turn, I picture one of the constructors of this evil pleasure device being too lazy to go to the ground to pick up a rivet vital to the stability of a supporting pillar. Oh, sure, he saved some time, but this thing’s about to bend like a twist tie. Then, we stop and I know that we must travel backwards. The sequence of physical distress is reversed but with the added element of having my face mangled by the force of gravity. The ride is over. I slap on my glasses, fogged by the sweat of my hands and try to mould my hair into some semblance of what it was like before. I seem to be the only one visibly staggering down the exit ramp. At the bottom, I’m greeted with the surprise that they took pictures of all of us during the ride. That’s great. There is physical evidence that I had my eyes closed. After some mocking by my so-called “buddies,” we decide to grab a bite to eat.
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