If you like adventure and thrills, living on the edge, getting that rush from doing something challenging -- but don't have the money to go off on your dream tour or place, there's always the excitement you can get on a budget -- and if you live in Brooklyn, or visit here, the place for that is the amusement park in Coney Island. But not just any part of the park, you have to get on the world famous Cyclone!
What in the world is the Cyclone, you might ask, well...it's this ancient, wooden roller coaster that opened on June 26, 1927, and was in and out of favor with the public for years. Finally, when it was threatened with demolition, a save the Cyclone campaign not only saved it, but managed to get it declared a city landmark in 1988, and a National Historic Landmark in 1991. Which of course makes it now a popular attraction for people who want to prove to themselves--that they got the nerve and stamina needed to take the ride and not scream their heads off.
With this in mind, I invited a friend to go with me and ride the Cyclone, to test himself. It took a lot of convincing--but he relented and we got on the ride. And oh brother! what a ride! My friend and I were sitting on the very first car, as he thought this would be child's play. So they lowered the bar--and off we went! My friend is screaming his head off, as we were being rattled, shaken and moved hither and yon by the centrifugal forces as this contraption is making turns at dizzying speeds.
Then -- just as suddenly the ride stopped--my poor friend looked green, he could barely walk, he was still shaken from the rattly, speedy ride. So I said to him, wasn't that great! How would you like to ride it again? He gave me a look of horror---oh no, no and no. He complained that he must have broken something and to top it off, he was in excruciating pain. No matter how I tried to explain to him that he had just been on the historic roller coaster, he told me that now his back was ruined for life, and he will forever blame me for dragging him to this.
