“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I’m really going to die dad!” I squealed, as I knew we were mere seconds from being shot into the sky.
Halfway through August most everyone receives a pamphlet in the mail advertising the Alaska State Fair. Usually my family would throw the pamphlet away or use it as fire starter, but this year we kept it because we were going to the fair. My family has a tradition; whoever is about to start their senior year must go on the slingshot. This year was my turn.
I didn’t know how to feel about this. I was extremely excited, but also nervous. I knew that I wouldn’t mind the being shot-up part, but the free-falling is what I wasn’t sure about. I had a feeling that my stomach wouldn’t agree with the flipping around.
Walking through the gates at the state fair, I knew I was only a couple minutes from getting shot into the sky. I was surprised to find that there was no one in line for the slingshot. One couple was on the ride, but that was it.
Dad and I took all of our loose items such as car keys, loose change, wallet, purse, etc. and gave them to my mom and sisters. Walking to the slingshot, my heart started to pound faster and the next minute was a blur. Time seemed to be on fast-forward, and the next thing I knew, I was strapped into this seat and the guy in charge told me to keep my feet braced on the bar or I would fall. I couldn’t tell whether or not he was joking.
As the bungee was tightening, I gripped the handles with all my strength. My dad was laughing at me. We slowly rose, and then I heard the click! We were shot straight up in the air. I was screaming extremely loud and my dad was just laughing and smiling. When we came down, I was actually all right because my stomach didn’t feel a thing. Halfway through the ride, we were trying to flip, but the slingshot wouldn’t.
“We gotta flip it,” I told dad.
“That’s no fair! It didn’t flip at all! Oh well,” dad said.
The rest of the ride we just bobbed up and down with no flips or anything. I could tell my dad was disappointed and wanted a better ride.
As we lowered to the platform the man in charge came over and asked, “What happened to the flips?”
Dad replied, “Well I was going to ask if we get a discount. That’s like, a bummer. We weren’t fighting it at all.”
“It was lame, huh?”
“It was lame.”
As I was trying to figure out how to undo the straps and buckles, the man walked away. I was quite confused as to why because he didn’t unbuckle dad. Then I felt the seat jerk. “Are we going again?” I asked.
“Yep,” Dad said with a grin on his face.
Deanna said the look on my face was priceless. I was ecstatic to go one more time. I just wanted to flip, to know what it felt like.
Click. We shot off, but instead of coming down sitting up we came down upside-down. So our feet were above our heads! We flipped so many times during this ride. It was exhilarating! I screamed pretty much the whole time. On our way back down I could tell dad was thrilled with this ride because, with a huge smile on his face, he said, “He gets a tip from me on that one.”
I was surprised the man charged both rides for the price of one. I was also amazed to find myself wanting to go back on the ride.
I left feeling fantastic, knowing that one day I would definitely be back to ride the slingshot again.
Halfway through August most everyone receives a pamphlet in the mail advertising the Alaska State Fair. Usually my family would throw the pamphlet away or use it as fire starter, but this year we kept it because we were going to the fair. My family has a tradition; whoever is about to start their senior year must go on the slingshot. This year was my turn.
I didn’t know how to feel about this. I was extremely excited, but also nervous. I knew that I wouldn’t mind the being shot-up part, but the free-falling is what I wasn’t sure about. I had a feeling that my stomach wouldn’t agree with the flipping around.
Walking through the gates at the state fair, I knew I was only a couple minutes from getting shot into the sky. I was surprised to find that there was no one in line for the slingshot. One couple was on the ride, but that was it.
Dad and I took all of our loose items such as car keys, loose change, wallet, purse, etc. and gave them to my mom and sisters. Walking to the slingshot, my heart started to pound faster and the next minute was a blur. Time seemed to be on fast-forward, and the next thing I knew, I was strapped into this seat and the guy in charge told me to keep my feet braced on the bar or I would fall. I couldn’t tell whether or not he was joking.
As the bungee was tightening, I gripped the handles with all my strength. My dad was laughing at me. We slowly rose, and then I heard the click! We were shot straight up in the air. I was screaming extremely loud and my dad was just laughing and smiling. When we came down, I was actually all right because my stomach didn’t feel a thing. Halfway through the ride, we were trying to flip, but the slingshot wouldn’t.
“We gotta flip it,” I told dad.
“That’s no fair! It didn’t flip at all! Oh well,” dad said.
The rest of the ride we just bobbed up and down with no flips or anything. I could tell my dad was disappointed and wanted a better ride.
As we lowered to the platform the man in charge came over and asked, “What happened to the flips?”
Dad replied, “Well I was going to ask if we get a discount. That’s like, a bummer. We weren’t fighting it at all.”
“It was lame, huh?”
“It was lame.”
As I was trying to figure out how to undo the straps and buckles, the man walked away. I was quite confused as to why because he didn’t unbuckle dad. Then I felt the seat jerk. “Are we going again?” I asked.
“Yep,” Dad said with a grin on his face.
Deanna said the look on my face was priceless. I was ecstatic to go one more time. I just wanted to flip, to know what it felt like.
Click. We shot off, but instead of coming down sitting up we came down upside-down. So our feet were above our heads! We flipped so many times during this ride. It was exhilarating! I screamed pretty much the whole time. On our way back down I could tell dad was thrilled with this ride because, with a huge smile on his face, he said, “He gets a tip from me on that one.”
I was surprised the man charged both rides for the price of one. I was also amazed to find myself wanting to go back on the ride.
I left feeling fantastic, knowing that one day I would definitely be back to ride the slingshot again.
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