If you looked up “fun” in the dictionary you’d see a gigantic
photo collage of the wild and zany activities my friends have come up with in
the last few weeks. It all started on Saturday, August 3rd when one
of my friends put out a feeler on Facebook. It triggered a “What should we do tonight?”
brainstorm that set in motion a rip-roaring chain of events that shows no sign
of stopping. That night we decided to go to a nearby park and “play.” We kicked
things off with a lively round of sidewalk chalk sketching before heading to
the various playgrounds.
One of the playgrounds had this treacherous wheel ride that
I have nicknamed “Spin Cycle.” Everyone (who was willing to risk their neck)
took a turn inside while the bystanders spun them around as fast as humanly
possible. (I personally took the job of “lighting crew” and so we could film
the whole thing.)
Whilst inside the wheel some were more verbose than
others. Gwen, for example, managed to exclaim, “I feel like I’m galloping on a
horse!” and “I’m catching air!” Having tweaked my neck on a waterslide earlier
on the day I decided it was best to give my neck a break. The rest of the
evening was filled with swinging on swings, playing a few rounds of a light
machine game and spinning on any and every contraption that could spin us. And
that was just the beginning.
Two days later we found ourselves in the midst of a
less-than-festive tri-ward luau. People were starting to come after us with water
balloons so my ward rallied and decided to flee. We stopped at an ice cream
shack where I was able to snag one of my all-time favorite treats: a chocolate-dipped
cone. After some convening and reconvening we set out for the same park we had
gone to nights before. First we checked on our chalk masterpieces. I was quite pleased
to see they were completely intact. Next we headed to the Spin Cycle where a
few more people were initiated into the Circle of Death (aka the Circle of Friendship.)
One of our guys took a bad spill out of the wheel and for a moment everything
froze. Once he was on his feet again a few more brave souls took their turn in
the wheel. Although I didn’t have an excellent excuse to hang back (no lighting
crew was needed because it was still light outside) I did have an excellent
time watching my friends scream, “I’m gonna puke!”
After some tranquil climbing on the jungle gym people
started chasing each other which led to a chaotic game of tag. I got tagged and
chased Gwen for a few hundred feet but I couldn’t manage to tag her. Instead I
decided it was best to hide in the bushes and catch a few friends by surprise.
There’s just something awesome about hearing your friends approach unawares.
They’re just laughing and having a good time and then all of a sudden it’s, “Ahhhhhhhh!!!”
Game over. Having completed my mission of tagging someone I continued on with
the group to the other playground. For whatever reason tag was just in our
blood that night and we needed more. Believe it or not we played Hot Lava
Monster for about an hour straight. The last time I played that game was probably
eight years ago when I was a summer camp counselor. It is very different to
play with adults because they are bigger, faster and louder. I think we had at
least 12 people playing and it was just insanely fun.
After banging our knees and elbows on every structural
component of that playground (and sacrificing a few ankles) our group finally called
it a night. Well, most of us, anyway. Those of us who weren’t quite done moved
our cars over to the library parking lot so the cops wouldn’t come looking for
us in the park. We pulled out a blanket and settled down on the west boundary
of the park. After a few minutes it got a little chilly so we decided to start
a dance party to combat the cold. Yes, we’re nuts. Eventually a cop spotted our
cars in the parking lot and walked over to our little encampment. “Guys, the
park is closed. When you get a minute I’ll need you to head on your way.” “Sorry!
We’ll go right now.” “No, no, that’s not necessary. Just when you get a minute.
Have a good night.” Score! With the officer’s blessing we bided our time.
Eventually the sprinklers came on and we headed for the parking lot. I left
after that (yes, even I go to bed sometimes) but apparently another officer
visited my friends in the parking lot a little while later “just to say hi.”
Rad.
Five very social days later it was once again Saturday.
(This time it was August 10th.) With tickets in hand our group
struck out for the county fairgrounds where many of us would be witnessing our
very first demolition derby. (I thought it was my first time but my dad later
informed me that he took me to one when I was very young. My bad!) There’s
something unsettling, dirty, cheap and lovely about walking through a county
fair. You know it’s a gigantic rip-off. You know it’s probably not safe. You
know there are carnies BUT there is also magic in the air. It’s the strangest
combination of dust, grime, steel and sparkling light in the known universe. We
found our seats on the bleachers and then people started making runs to buy
various grease-dipped food. (Oh how I prefer chocolate-dipped food!) The derby began and once the sun lowered behind the
clouds we comfortably drifted away to the crash-bang-boom rhythm of the cars. Even
still my friends could not hold still. We couldn’t help but notice the almighty
Gravitron ride spinning just behind the derby arena. Two friends scouted out
the ticket price and found out it was $4. Four dollars for the best fair ride
of all time? Let’s do it!
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| Image credit |
To my great delight we had a few people in our group who
had never been on a Gravitron. I tried to describe the gravity-compressing
sensation in very placid, nonthreatening terms. “The ride is completely
enclosed so you won’t fall out. You’ll just feel like you’re being pressed
against the wall but it’s cushioned so it won’t hurt.” (Now that I look back on
those words all spelled out I can see that it would have easily been
interpreted as, “You’ll be locked into a metal room with padded walls and spun
until you can literally climb the walls like the crazy person you are.” I
probably should have just said it that way.) We timed our dash for the ticket
booth perfectly. (We waited until the penultimate event was over so that we
could ride the Gravitron while the tow trucks were cleaning up the mess in the arena.)
After snatching up our tickets we got in line and waited for a few nervous
minutes until the previous passengers were completely unloaded. Then it was our
turn!
We spread out slightly so we could have room to freak out
and then the ride started. It had been about six years since I had been on a
Gravitron and to be honest I had forgotten what it was like. According to Wikipedia “riders [experience]
centrifugal force equivalent to three times the force of gravity” when the ride
is at full speed. Can you say a-w-e-s-o-m-e? I felt like my whole stomach was
being pressed down to a thickness of about 3 inches. In order to keep my
diaphragm from collapsing I very strategically screamed my head off. Big breath
in, big scream out. It was hard to keep doing this because I was laughing so
hard. I wish wish wish I had kept my iPhone in my hand so I could have taken
pictures and videos of my friends – especially the first-timers. Luckily one of
my friends took video and this is a still shot from it:
After the ride ended we stumbled then sprinted back to
our seats for the final event. We made it just in time! Before I knew it the
derby was over and we were cooking up our next plan for the evening. We rendezvoused
with a few more friends at Sonic and chatted away for the next hour or so. “Surely,”
I thought, “this highflying summer sprint to the finish will slow down
eventually.” Surely I was wrong.
Last night I once again witnessed my friends’ constant
craving for summer gallivanting. My ward softball team played its first game in a two-night
regional tournament and we WON. The game was over before 9:00 which meant the evening
was wide open. Much to my delight one of my friends asked, “Okay, what’s next?”
before I even had my cleats off. I live off of this kind of energy. Within
minutes eight of us were scurrying to the other side of the park to play
soccer. Even though two girls weren’t completely comfortable playing soccer
they still tried it. I feed off of these kinds of people. Once soccer wound
down it was time to come up with something else. Someone suggested “Hands Up
Stands Up” (a handstand competition) and I designated myself as the official
photographer.
Watching them play was fascinating. These friends of mine
are cordial, competitive, goofy, great people. They would rather risk
dislocating their shoulder than “call it a night.” (Yes, one of the girls
dislocated her shoulder.) I thrive on this kind of determination. Eventually we
made a break for the nearest 24 hour restaurant. I fully anticipate that
tonight (when we will play at least two more softball games) will be just as
action-packed and spontaneous. Whether we are celebrating a few momentous victories
or mourning our premature elimination I know that we’ll be having the time of
our lives. Someday soon our lives will settle down into autumn routines and
early, quiet evenings. In the meantime our summer nights are books waiting to
be written. Grab your cleats, your camera, your phone, your lantern, your
wallet and your friends. We’ve got stuff to do.
