Enjoying the ride

The Falling Star

I sat in a chair and gripped the metal rail in front of me. Although the air was warm, the sky was not marked by a single cloud and although I was outside to enjoy the lovely weather and not stuck in a windowless cubicle,  my stomach was twisted with anxiety and nervousness. Sure, this huge piece of metal, gears and bolts offered its passengers seat belts, but how I would feel once the contraption started swooping and spinning in the air?
No one else on the Falling Star seemed to share my concerns. My niece and nephew, in fact, looked pleased as punch to be on this amusement park ride.
The ride operator stepped leisurely up to the controls and lowered a second set of hand rails before the apparatus slowly began to rise up into the air. "Oh Lord," I thought, "here we go."
Going to Cliffs Amusement Park is a newly formed tradition in my family. It began with just my parents taking my sister's children to the Albuquerque park. Then last year, I joined them. On Wednesday, my sister also jumped in on the ride.
As the attendee list has grown, the plan of action for experiencing Cliffs has become more and more developed. Here's the rundown: you go during a weekday and arrive just as the park is opening. A packed lunch is a necessity and my father insists that the traditional food be peanut butter sandwiches. No games or  trinkets will be purchased but the youngsters are entitled to one edible treat right before leaving the park. A large vehicle is required as transportation because a smaller car can cause trouble. My parents drove their two-door sedan the first time they took the grandkids to Cliffs. Someone repeatedly kicked the back of my father's seat and there were consequences.
Cliffs is a great amusement park to host this tradition. For starters, it is spotlessly clean and it is relatively small so three young, excitable children can tear off in all directions and it is pretty easy to track them down.
Wednesday, my oldest nephew immediately headed for the Falling Star, a ride he had experienced on an earlier trip to the park. He insisted that I follow him. The ride looks like a large platform with built-in seats and a huge arm that lifts the platform up, high into the air and then maneuvers it in large circles.
My nephew believed this ride was stupendous but I was hesitant. Amusement park rides, while I love them, do have the tendency to make my stomach jump. It's an odd sensation, having a part of yourself be juggled around uncontrollably; I am always wary of it.
Sometimes though, you just need to go with the flow. As the Falling Star made its circles in the air, my stomach did not slosh around; however, I did scream out a few times like a little girl.
I realized I could in fact loosen my grip, lean back, and enjoy the ride.