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“It was an interesting time to say the least for me, there I was a young man and I was holding a hundred plus pound contraption and the only thought I had was: what the hell.” He chuckled. “Deciding that the kids inside were okay as they were now laughing and hugging each other, I gently set the carriage down.”
“I instantly decided it was best if I wasn't there when folks came over to rescue the kids; at the time I did NOT want that kind of attention you see. So I ran away. I ran away from the Ferris wheel and around the back of a few other rides, taking a roundabout way back to where I was supposed to meet Kristen, again in record time. I even managed to walk up just as she was coming back out. I had glanced towards the Ferris wheel and saw that there were now many people gathered around it, and the group that had gathered was loud enough that even she heard it.”
“I remember thinking it was good I ran away.” He says.
1996:
"What's going on?" She asked him.
"You missed it, the Ferris wheel broke and that carriage fell." He tried to say as calmly as he could. He didn't want it to seem weird that he was excited about it, but he also didn't want to seem weird for NOT seeming excited about it. And yet it was a weird thing, trying not to be excited and yet act like he was somewhat excited; it was very confusing.
She looked over, then up to where the gondola once attached to the big wheel and gasped as the enormity of the situation dawned on her. They had fallen over fifty feet!
"How? Are they okay?" She exclaimed.
"I don't know, I was here waiting for you when it happened. Kind of looks like they're okay but I can't see around the crowd." He replied hastily.
She began walking towards the ride in earnest, dodging people and weaving among the gathering patrons so she could, presumably get a closer look; she was like that, always wanting to be part of the action. He hated it. He started to follow her, before stopping mid-step; couldn't go over there someone would recognize him and then it'd be a bigger mess! No, no he can't follow her; unless he did something quick. He quickly tried to think of anything that he could do to hide what he looked like; the only thing he can do is take off the hoodie he was sporting thanks to the brisk spring morning.
And if someone sees it around my waist I'm caught; but my shirt is blue and the hoodie black so maybe, just maybe in the crowd no one will notice. No time to debate, he thought with a grimace since she was quickly drawing away from him and would soon notice he wasn't following. If she started yelling at him then there were sure to be some folks who turned to look, not good. He practically ripped the lightweight jacket off, tying in haphazardly around his waist and impatiently un-tucked the t-shirt over it that had gotten caught inside. It looked dorky, but it did hide most of the hoodie and only those looking for him would notice. Then he ran, not like before but just enough to catch up with her. It should have felt weird, to be running that slow but for some reason it wasn't.
Once in the crowd, no one even glanced at him. All that worry for nothing; everyone was far too busy talking about what happened and for that he was grateful. He sidled up to her as quickly as he could squeeze between people.
"Hey Kristen," He said as her grabbed her elbow. "Can we go, this crowd bothers me and I want to ride more rides."
She looked at him oddly, as if that was the strangest thing in the world to say. "You didn't hear? They're shutting down all the rides until tomorrow. Something about "routine maintenance" or some crap." Her hands going up in the air and signaling mock quotations.
"Oh. No I didn't. I was just…never mind. So I guess what, we just go home?"
"I guess." She said with a glance at the wall of people now in front of her.
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He was, however, less than thrilled at the thought of any attention he could have gotten from the whole thing. It just wasn't his thing; excitement and adventure.