Roller Coaster

 

'mad mouse'

When I was 18 I was invited to an amusement park and my 'date' suggested we go on the Mad Mouse roller coaster.

Now, I'm not a big fan of roller coasters in the first place but this one didn't have big 'mountains' or loops.  It was fairly close to the ground, mostly on the level, so I hesitantly agreed.

It was NOT fun.  For me.  I think he could tell by my white face that I was not having the promised 'fun'.

The coaster is on a level - mostly, with 90 degree turns, hairpin turns - the cars were small and felt very insecure to me as we dashed forward to a turn then rocketed around abruptly changing direction.  There did not appear to be much in the way of guard rails to prevent a car from simply taking off and flinging itself into the void and the abrupt changes of direction were not welcomed by my whiplashed neck.  In fact the whole fair seemed rickety and poorly maintained.

Overall it was not the 'best ride ever' but a heart thumping, anxiety inducing few minutes.  If I had let myself 'scream' as others were doing - in delight - it would, for me, have been terror as with every abrupt change in direction I pictured myself flying off into the crowd below.

Kind of like how life has been lately.

Not just for me, but for so many people I know.  The changes of direction as 'things' happen, the constant adjusting, managing, adapting to things happening.  It's all stressful.  Add to that health issues.  It's all...too much.

But roller coaster rides do, eventually, end.  Nothing lasts forever - not the bad stuff, not the good stuff.  I managed to survive that ride in spite of feeling intense fear by knowing that the odds were slim that the ride was as rickety as it seemed to me.  An 'accident' was unlikely, and I just had to hang on to the bar and hang on to the fact that it would soon be over.

Or, as Winston Churchill apparently put it - when you are going through hell, keep going.