The Sky At Night

Sometimes the sky here is very clear, I mean so clear that you can see the stars between the stars. At least that's what the tell me.  I used to be able to see all the stars, but sadly I can now only see the very brightest ones.

"Look at that! Is that Pleiades?"

"I don't know, but I do know that's the dipper."

(*sigh*)

Eyesight is a very nice thing when you have it, and a rather nasty thing when you lose it.

And even worse when you know what you used to be able to see. But can't.

That is all.

The Man Is A Hero.

Last week we took our annual family trip to Knoebel’s Amusement Resort, a wonderful amusement park filled with family friendly rides as well as plenty of water rides, thrill rides, and kiddie rides to make the entire family happy.

Oh, yeah, and did I mention the food? The Food Network rated Knoebel’s food “The Best Amusement Park Food in America.”  

So, we arrived, ate lunch, rode the rides, and had a great time!

There was, however, one kid who didn’t have such a great day, and I have a feeling he didn’t have such a great ride home, either.

Here’s why … 

We put a few of the kids on a ride called “Roto Jets,” which is basically a bunch of rockets that spin in a circle while also moving up and down. 

Anyway, three of our kids, along with their cousin, were just starting the ride when a kid stood up in the rocket behind my son. The ride operator yelled for the kid to sit down, but he wouldn’t sit. The man then stopped the ride, gently and safely, making sure that all the rockets slowed down and descended from way up there.

But before the rockets could descend or stop completely, the boy jumped from his rocket to the inside of the ride, where the spinning arms that operated the rockets missed his head by a fraction of an inch, while the ride continued to move, slowly coming to a stop.

The operator stood, pointed and yelled at the boy to freeze and not move a muscle.

The ride stopped, the operator, surrounded by several park officials, picked the boy up and he ran to his parents, who walked away with him.

I’m writing this down for several reasons.

First, I want the park to know from an actual witness the events as they happened, as they seemingly took no names or statements at the time, and did not detain the boy or his family to take a statement.

Secondly, I want the park to know that in my opinion the ride operator acted superbly in a frightful situation. He remained calm but stern, only yelling to keep the child from being killed. I’m not sure I would have been as calm as he. Excellent job!

Finally, I want to reiterate to my children, just as I did when it happened, that rules exist for a reason, even on park rides.

• Yes, you have to fasten the seat belt.
• Yes, you have to be tall enough to ride.
•  No, you may not stand up while the ride is moving.

The man who was operating the Roto Jets averted a disaster. He is a hero.

That is all.