All those years ago.

"Fat man sitting on a little stool,
Takes the money from my hand while his eyes take a walk all over you.
Hands me the ticket, smiles and whispers good luck,
Cuddle up angel, cuddle up my little dove
We'll ride down, baby, into this tunnel of love."

Something happened yesterday that made me think about when I went to 6-Flags outside of St. Louis, Missouri many, many years ago. It was probably when I hit the ripe age of 15, when my friends and I went there for a few reasons in no particular order; we went to spend a summer day amongst thousands of people, enjoy the rides, joke around, do pranks on one another, and meet girls. (This was long before smart phones or any of the new ways to connect with "anyone" from nearby or cross country were available.)

By the way, I was joking about it being in no particular order. I am sure you can figure out our reason for going and it was not to spend a day in the blistering heat of a St. Louis summer.

Fifteen was kind of a magical age for me. It was a time when I had lost weight, grew, and learned more about the opposite sex; I didn't know much, but thanks to my friends I learned more about it through their personal "supposed adventures." (I believe their knowledge came through older siblings who learned it through older siblings--in other words, we were all pretty naive and trusting  information we had no idea was true or not.)

As I prepared for writing this blog, I had to go far back and think about those days; I mean "very far back." It was fun to do, but also a bit scary as I still really don't understand a lot about the opposite sex. I should by now, but everyday I am reminded that if I believe I have an inkling of what's going on in their heads, I am wrong.
 

So there we were, and again this was a time when I had gone from a "husky" kid to a developing juvenile who had grown 5 inches in one year. With my confidence not at the level of my rising height, one of my friends started a conversation with a small group of girls. There were probably 5 of us, and 4 of them---in other words, if anything was going to move forward, one of us was going to feel left out. Back then it was a lot different than today when kids go out in groups, back then we would hold hands and with no phones to check, we actually paid attention to one another. I know, it's really hard to believe.

I don't remember the exact details, but I was number 4 and not the one left out; I'm sure it was a close call. I went on a ride with this new found friend by my side and I actually put my arm around her.! Whoa. It was when we got off the ride it was reconfirmed how little I knew about the other side---my friends had much better stories to tell.
 

So, here we are, all these years later, and my daughter who was pretty much my age when I went with friends to 6-Flags outside Chicago, did the same. I started to think (a very bad idea by the way) about why I went to with my friends. Thankfully, and I know this is true because our older daughter went with them, that any concerns were completely unwarranted. Whew.

The photo above was taken at our local carnival--there was no "fat man sitting on a little stool" but you can bet for sure, the next time she goes to 6-Flags, someone is coming along. The fat man known as "Dad."

Thanks for stopping by.