Carnival's in Town

The carnival's in town!!! Yes, I know it's been here for a while already, but I've never actually stopped by before since it is the miniature one. I always wait for the bigger carnival that arrives in February with the whole Washington birthday celebration hoopla. Seeing the carnival reminds me of the time when the main carnival was still at Life Downs, when dirt and the smell of horse poop went hand in hand. Ah the memories...

But I did the unthinkable tonight...I was manipulated into getting on this here ride. I first said no, thinking I'm way too old to be getting on these rides. Then I thought, "what the hell". So there I went, getting on the gated seating arrangement thing, holding onto the bars making sure that they wouldn't swing open when the ride started. My partner was having the time of their life, reminding me of just how much fun I used to have on these rides. I think it's been about some fifteen years since I was last on a ride like this one. Actually, this particular ride was the first 'adult' ride I ever got on at a carnival. It felt like life had finally gone full circle. So, the ride commenced and there I went, screaming my head off, telling my fellow rider just how much I hated their guts for making me get on this thing. It's weird though, the feelings one goes through while on these rides: the exhilaration, the feeling of clammy, cold sweat starting to cover your lower back; just a couple of minutes ago, I was a little cold considering it's one of the first nights that it's actually gotten chilly here in good ol' Laredo...and now I was actually a little hot. Another weird thing is, aside from the feeling that at any moment I was going to be flying out of this rickety old compartment box, was the intense laughter emanating  from me. I was really laughing my butt off. Finally, when the nice carnival  employee stopped the ride (which he ran for quite a while considering that we were the only ones on) I got off a little bit disoriented and completely disheveled. I survived without feeling like I was going to throw up, which was a huge concern of mine since I get sick getting on the swings at the lake, but I was A-OK. So, I seriously enjoyed the ride but I can say with a certain amount of certainty that this will be the last time I ever get on a ride. It's about time I grow up...well, at least until February.