Gravitron

 

It was August, several years ago, and the county fair was in full swing.  Scott and I decided we wanted to go check it out.  I remembered always loving amusement parks and rollercoasters and all the twirly rides, and thought the rides at the fair would be fun.  We discussed it further and decided to make the evening into a date night.  First, we would have dinner, then go walk around the fair, then ride some rides.  It sounded great.

Evening came, we drove to the restaurant, and enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner, complete with bread, salad, pasta, dessert, and wine.  It was all delicious, and Scott and I left the restaurant full and happy.  To the fair we went.  

We purchased several tickets for the rides, then walked around for a while, seeing the sights, and watching the people milling around.  We played a few silly games.  We laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.  

"Let's do a ride," I said.  

Scott nodded in agreement.  We looked around and decided to start with the Ferris wheel.  We got in line, waited for our turn, and boarded our car.  We slowly inched our way upward as the attendant loaded the cars below us.  Finally, everyone was on, and the wheel started creeping around, slowly raising us higher and higher.  The views from the top were lovely.  We looked up at the sky, watched the stars and the moon as we reached the apex and sank back to the earth.  Around and around we went, spotting something new every time we reached the top, pointing it out to each other excitedly.  All too soon, the ride ended.  We climbed out of our car, and we headed off to find our next ride.

The teacups!  They looked fun and a little more ambitious than the Ferris wheel.  Once again, we got in line and boarded our teacup when it came around.  The teacup ride features three or four cars attached to a spindle (imagine petals on a flower).  That spindle, along with three other identical spindles, attaches to a main spindle.  Each individual teacup spins, the smaller spindle spins, and the main spindle spins.  It's nothing but spinning.  Scott and I grinned like teenagers as the ride started to move.  Our teacup started spinning as it flung its way around the spindle.  The spindle spun harder as it flung its way around the big spindle.  Before long, all the spinning had smooshed me firmly against Scott, who was firmly smooshed against the side of the teacup.  We laughed and laughed as the ride whirled us round and round.  When it finally came to a stop, we were giddy.

"What's next?" Scott asked as we climbed down the stairs.  

I looked around, then pointed.  "Let's do that."  "That" was the Gravitron.  

I had been on a Gravitron before.  From the outside, it looks like a big gray spaceship.  On the inside, it's a big open space with individual pads against the wall.  Riders stand against the pads, and the ride starts to spin.  As it spins faster and faster, riders become pinned to the pad behind them.  The pad then slides up the wall so the riders' feet are off the floor.  The centrifugal force is so strong that it becomes hard to move.  I remembered it being really fun.  

We walked up the stairs, entered the Gravitron, and took our spots against two of the pads.  Other riders filed in, the door closed, the lights dimmed, and the music started.  

"Here we go," I said as I looked at Scott and smiled.  

He smiled back as we started to spin.  Faster and faster we went.  I felt myself pinned against the pad, felt the pad slide up the wall so my feet were dangling.  In my peripheral vision, I saw Scott do the same.  It was about that time that my stomach pinned itself to my spine, then decided to rise up like the pad I was pinned against.  I felt my delicious Italian dinner hankering for a quick exit.

Don't barf.  Don't barf.  Don't barf.  If I barf, it will just come back on my face.  Don't barf.  Don't barf.  Don't barf.

"Try lifting your arms!" Scott said gleefully as he struggled to lift an arm away from the pad.  

I couldn't look.  I couldn't move.  I couldn't close my eyes.  I couldn't do anything but will my stomach to hold the food just a little longer.

"Try and lift your head!" Scott shouted over the music.  

Don't barf.  Don't barf.  Don't barf.

I was concentrating with all my focus on not throwing up.  I almost missed Scott suddenly going silent.  I couldn't turn my head, but I could see in my periphery that he was holding very still.  The one eye of his that I could see was very wide.  

Please let this ride end.  Please let this ride end.  Please please please please.

Finally, after what had to have been 75 years, the Gravitron slowed.  Our pads slid down, and our feet touched the ground.  The ride came to a stop, but my food was still riding high.  I shakily walked to the door, managed the walk down the stairs, and found a bench to sit.  Scott quietly joined me.

"I thought I was gonna barf," I said, taking a deep breath.

"Me too," Scott agreed.  "I shouldn't have tried to lift my head."

We sat for a bit longer, willing our dinners to go back to our stomachs.  

"I don't think I can do any more rides," I finally offered.

"Good.  Me neither."

"What should we do with our tickets?"

Scott looked around, then stood up and slowly moved through the crowd.  I got up and followed.  He was looking, looking, head turning this way and that, until he found what he was looking for.  I hung back as he approached a young boy standing with his dad.  Scott looked at the dad and held up the tickets.  The dad nodded.  Scott looked down at the young boy, shy, holding on to his dad's hand.  

"Here you go," Scott said, and handed the boy our string of tickets.  

The boy's eyes lit up like the carnival rides all around us.  Before the dad or the boy could say a word, Scott turned and walked back toward me.  

I smiled at him and wrapped my arms around his neck.  "That was really nice," I said.

Scott hugged me tight, then whispered, "Let's get out of here before we barf."