June 7, 2013: Tilt-a-Hurl

Neighbor, Luanne, poses by St. Lucy with Grant and I

Last night was a great summer night. Cool weather, great company, and fun Downtown events all rolled into one. The start of our mini-adventure was the Old Market and the end, the Santa-Lucia Festival on the riverfront. In between was a stroll through the Summer Arts Festival. A very nice walk enjoying all of what Downtown has to offer.

As we came upon the Santa Lucia Festival, Grant was pleasantly surprised to see a small carnival going on. Rides of all shapes and sizes were in full motion. As I eyed a spinning mechanism in the horizon, I wondered if this was the Tilt-a-Whirl. The machine equipped with spinning cars rolling around a joint spinning track.

The Remsen Kids' Days annually produced this fanciful machine. Not one to endure motion well, my riding it was typically the result of my brothers' prodding. I would ultimately join the spinning fun. As a result of my brothers extra effort in creating the fastest spins, I would endure for days of feelings of uneasiness. I vividly remember laying in bed for nights as though I was battling seasickness.

As I eyed the machine, I asked Grant, "Is that the Tilt-a-Hurl?" Opps...Freudian Slip. It was the generation after me that coined it this name with Grant being the unintentional namesake. Suddenly my memories of seasickness from motion rides went away as I remembered Grant's own involuntary response.

I went on to ask Grant if he remembered his experience, which he said he didn't. The Tilt-a-Hurl event occurred after Grant I went to the circus many years ago. Exiting the Qwest on that beautiful summer night, we eyed a carnival on the same riverfront landing. Deciding to complete our adventure with some rides, we also saw that Grant had just made the height limit for the "big" rides. He wanted to give the spinning contraption a try.

Placed in a car with two cute teenage girls, Grant was trying his best to act like a tween. Grant smiled and the girls shrieked as they enjoyed the rolling, spinning motion together. After reaching the designated time limit, the carnival worker nonchalantly unlocked their car safety bar. Grant promptly responded by throwing up. Although he did not physically hit the girls, they were too shocked to speak. Grant got up, wiped his mouth, and without missing a beat said, "I'm fine!"

After retelling the story to his older brothers, the ride has been forever named the Tilt-a-Hurl. Grant kept his cool, but not his food, and the cute girls got an unanticipated surprise ending. After telling the story again last night, we all decided against any carnival rides for the evening. A better way to end a nice night.