 tilt-a-wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Wednesday, September 20, 2006 The first fairground ride that made me cry was the Tilt-A-Whirl. It wasn't even at the fair, it was in the parking lot at Eastland Shopping Center in the summer of '69. I remember it distinctly. I didn't want to go on it but was forced to, for lack of a better way of putting it, by my stepmom at the time and one of her friends. My old man was in Vietnam and she was keeping up with his weekend visitations by showing me the big city of Lexington on Saturdays. I remember trying not to bawl...but I was scared shitless...and I felt somehow betrayed. Their constant insistence that it wasn't anything to be scared about and that we'd be fine, turned out to be complete horse hockey and, as usual...I had been smarter than the adults around me. This Tilt-A-Whirl was little more than a ticket-charging killing machine and these formerly felonious murder merchants were getting away with it right in front of Woolworth's! Bastards! They say some of the Tilt-A-Whirls built in the 40s and 50s are still in operation...no doubt covered with the blood of many a frightened 4-year-old tragically engulfed in their orange and blue clutches... Tilt-A-Whirl. Diana (Windsor clone). Ilford HP4. I'm teaching a Holga workshop tonight...see you there if you signed up. Buy a Light Leaks...you'll be glad you did. Comment (7) | Permalink |
