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THE MOST DANGEROUS RIDE OF MY LIFE The doors open and inside is a conductor,
just like on a train, wearing a hat and uniform. He tells us
to come inside. I see rows and rows chairs, made of metal, and
choose one near a window. The chairs are finally filled but there
are still more people coming. The conductor directs them to a
place where they can remain standing during the ride. He leans
out the doorway, "Is that 60?" The doors are closed and locked! They're locked from the outside so that we can't get out until someone lets us out! Probably a good idea, I think, since none of us can fly. The conductor cautions the people sitting to remain seated while we start our "ascent". The people who are standing hold on to cords hanging from the ceiling. We start to move, slowly. We go forward and up at the same time. The conductor starts to talk in a loud booming voice, "The wheel was designed by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania bridge builder George Washington Gale Ferris." My ears pricked up. "Ferris!", I thought, "So that's how the wheel got it's name. Just like the Eye Full Tower!". (Don't forget, it's 'Eiffel', not 'Eye Full'). "Supported by two 140 foot steel towers, ..." The tall poles! I nudged Dad. He had guessed pretty close. "... its 45 foot axle is the largest single piece of forged steel in the world!" I yawned. We already knew that. "The wheel itself has a diameter of 250 feet, ..." Dad had already explained that if you take a circle and draw a line through it that crosses the very center, then that line is the DIE-AM-IT-TER. Very interesting. But in this story, just very big! "...and a circumference of 825
feet." The maximum height is 264 feet." My dad whistles when he hears the height. He leans over and whispers, "That's like 44 me's standing one on top of the other. Can you imagine that?" "No! One of you is enough, Dad," I teased him. He grins and bumps me with his shoulder. The conductor pauses in his speech and smiles widely. He seems pleased by the 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from his audience. I am itching to get up but he continues. "The wheel is powered by two 1000 horsepower reversible engines-one to run the wheel and the other on reserve-just in case..." Just then, the wheel stops. Someone gasps, then everyone becomes very quiet. A lady standing near a window starts to faint but a man catches her in time and gives his seat to her. I start to feel a little scared and maybe even a bit woozy. I reach for my dad's hand, a little worried that he might mind. But he just squeezes my hand and smiles. I wonder if he doesn't feel a little scared, too, but he just whispers, "Isn't this marvelous?" The wheel starts to move again and everyone
sighs. Some people giggle or laugh. I forget in an instant that
I had been the teeniest bit afraid. Suddenly, I can't imagine
why anyone would sit and I wriggle out of my seat and go to the
window. The view is fantastic. I can see all the way across Lake
Michigan. The conductor, with his booming voice, tells us that
on a clear day like today, facing the lake, we are looking at
four states. Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. I haven't
even been to those states, or have I? Does it count when you
can see them? I stretch out my hand and pretend that I've touched
them. I look down, down, dowwwwwwwwwwn. What
an amazing sight! We had been so fascinated, looking straight
ahead, that we hadn't yet looked down. We see all the beautiful
white buildings of the fair surrounded by wiggling, little bugs.
Only they aren't bugs-they are people! Looking at them, I am
reminded of my mother's needlepoint-all those colorful little
knots of thread. Only these tiny knots are moving! I recognize
one--I see her. My mother wouldn't come on the ride with us but
she promised to wear a very bright, almost silly hat. My sister
wore a bright, silly hat, too. I can see them now. Dad is waving
at them. But can they see us? |
