Suppressed Memories

I worked at Western Playland 8 years ago, and had remembered some memories I had suppressed for a long time. One was a funny incident that happened while operating the Tilt-A-Whirl ride, more affectionately known as the Tilt-A-Hurl due to passengers inability to keep their nachos down.

It was a day when I actually wanted somewhat of a break from the monotony of the Himalaya ride I was more accustomed to operating, but I didn't want to get stuck working a kids ride, so they placed me on the Tilt-A-Hurl. I gladly accepted that ride over a kids ride any day. Remind me one of these days to talk about some of the stupid things parents used to do. It's almost a guarantee that sometime during the parks operating hours that at least one person would hurl either on the ride, or at the exit. I had lucked out most of the shift that everyone made it to the exit before letting loose chunks of corn, cotton candy & churros.

I was actually having a good day on the ride. Situated next to the Himalaya, I would often ask my friend who operated it to play a song or two, since I was in earshot. I was having a good time when I saw some college guys get in line for the ride. They watched the cars to see which ones would spin fast, and guessed that there were two that would be the best to sit in and ride. They were pretty far back in the ride, so when it came time for them to get on, they declined, cause they saw that the two were taken. They agreed to let others behind them get on, in exchange for getting on first to get the two cars.

Now, before I continue, let me explain the basic operation of a Tilt-A-Hurl. There are two switches that operate the ride, a foot switch that keeps the power on, and a power lever/ hand brake combo. When placed all the way backwards, the brakes holding each car are engaged, keeping the cars from spinning while passengers board. When the foot switch is pressed and the lever pulled forward to the 'neutral' position, the cars roll free, ready to ride. The entire ride is operated via cable (like a trolley car in San Francisco) so you need to gently ease the ride onto the cable to get it going.

I had let the ride set itself where the car I knew to be the fast one was on a slight slope, but looked rather straight. There were three guys, but they all didn't want to get in the same car, so they split, two in one, and the other in the second car. The two guys took the other of the two cars, and the single rider took the car I set up for one hell of a ride. They were joking with each other, and were trying to get the cars to spin with the brakes on, so I let them know that the brakes were on, and that I will release it when I start the ride. They sort-of knew that I could get a car to spin with enough force, so they begged me to make the cars spin fast. Problem was, the only car I was interested in was the one with the single rider.

So, the ride is full. I check the safety latches & make my way back to the controls. I set my foot in the switch and watched these guys try hard to make the car spin. I knew I was risking the cable snapping when I did it, but I wanted to make this guy's ride a living hell when I released the brake and shoved the control lever into the high position right away. The ride jerked & all the cars started spinning, but the solo rider's car was spinning super fast and pinned him harshly against the back of the car.

His head made an audible thud sound that I could hear over the music from the Himalaya, and saw the guy's two buddies feeling left out that their car wasn't spinning like their friends was. They tried to get it spinning, but they were working against the natural rhythm of the ride and never got one good spin. Their friend on the other hand was screaming at the top of his lungs out of sheer pleasure for the first :30 seconds. His eyes were clenched shut, and had a white-knuckle death-grip on the safety bar. He seemed to be enjoying it, until he started to realize the car wasn't going to stop spinning so fast.

Then, as I watched the people waiting in line laughing and pointing out the lone rider, I saw his friends beg and plead for me to make theirs spin. It was out of my control when I let off the brake. I now took notice of the fiercely spinning car and saw the guy's face change from trying to hold on for dear life, to trying not to barf mid-spin. I remember the guy was of light complexion, but I remember seeing the difference in his face each time he made it past my post. It changed from light, to pale in 2 revolutions. It was almost time for the ride to stop anyways, so I started to stop the ride.

I didn't hit the car brakes just yet, I wanted this guy to remember this ride for some time. I managed to park that guys car on a level plane and as soon as the ride stopped turning, let it freely spin for about :10 seconds. I felt a moment of pity and hit the brakes. His friends had started to get out of the ride and were laughing their asses off at their friend who was visibly dizzy from the ride, helped him up, and started to horseplay with the guy before he had a chance to get his bearings. He started to run towards the gate, and just made it down the stairs when he let loose his snacks into the bushes. Everyone in line watched and cheered & jeered when they saw him barely make it, got on the ride and enjoyed their turn.

The three guys came back an hour later trying to get that car again, but never got it back. The guy who had puked had asked if I did that to him on purpose, and I told him I didn't. Secretly I did, but I wasn't going to incriminate myself.