I don't remember much about the ride out. I don't think I said much. I didn't even have a radio to hum along to. When we got there, it was really hot. Grant made a pun and none of us got it at first, but all except Lili got it at the same time.
We got on some thrill rides, and it was fun. The first we did was the Mind Eraser. It was really quick, and our faces looked wierd, as we found out with the help of a nice lady. Well, that's not actually true. The first we did was the spooktacular laser shooty one, which only allowed four people, so I stayed off. We did a couple other thrill rides, and one that went super high.
After cooling off at the splashy wave boat one, we went to eat lunch. Leah gave me her double burger, which I didn't quite finish, which probably made me look terrible. We had a straw shoot-off, and then went off to the river raft ride.
This was when the rain started. Or rather, when it threatened to start. We stayed in that river raft line for over two hours. Eventually, so many people quit and left that we were the second group in the line. We played some Soccer Physics, and partook of some leg-based illusions. Mostly, we just talked. At one point, Maisie and Lili went off to get us food, and came back with funnel cake and ice cream. I ate most of the ice cream, which I don't feel bad about, because they ate most of the funnel cake.
Then, the teacup ride. Oh, lord, the teacup ride. I need to be awake to tell that one. Let's continue writing this tomorrow.
July 25th, 2017. That's when I last edited this document. The "tomorrow" during which I planned to write the rest of the story never came. It's been so long that I honestly don't remember why I couldn't write it the next day, or the day after that, or by the time the week was out. I remember that the pun Grant made was about pillows. I do not, however, remember anything else about the pun. It is in this state, with my memory fogged over by almost a year of subsequent events, that I will attempt to recount the events of that fateful day.
So, the teacup ride. It all started out rather innocently, which makes sense because it was after all a teacup ride. You see, almost all of the rides had been closed due to the rain, and they were only just starting to reopen. We had gone down the river raft ride, and were looking around for something to do. The only operational attraction within sight was the teacup ride, a simple thing for kids. We got in line with the intention of passing the time and probably chatting peacefully while spinning a bit.
I suppose at this point I should explain the structure of the ride. In this particular teacup ride, you and your group of friends sit in what is effectively a teacup-shaped plastic couch with a little door on one side. There are nine teacups in all, with three groups of three. Each teacup is on a little platform that spins, slightly offset from the center so that you get a nice wobble. Each group of three teacups is on its own medium platform which spins in the opposite direction of the smaller platforms, and of course the entire ride is spinning in the opposite direction of the medium platforms.
There is, however, one level of spinning that I have so far left out. At the center of each teacup there is a metal wheel, which can be used to manually spin the teacup in its place within the smallest platform. As we waited in line, we witnessed another group of teens (only a couple years younger than us) spinning their teacup as fast as they could, notably faster than any of the other teacups. The five of us immediately resolved to spin even faster than these ridiculous strangers.
Soon it was our turn to step into the ring. Without hesitation, we pulled on the wheel, trying to spin ourselves as much as possible. As soon as the brakes were removed, we started spinning at a decent pace. With all five of us pulling at the wheel, it didn't take long for the spinning to get faster. And faster. Lili was the first to stop pulling, her small frame pushed against the walls of the teacup to the point that she could not reach out her arm to meet the wheel. Maisie and Leah soon followed, as the spinning got so fast that they could not bear to even lift their arms off of the seat. Our hair was flying directly outwards, the other cycles of the teacup ride all but lost within the power of our spinning. Leah began expressing doubts as to whether to continue our acceleration, but Grant and I pressed on... for a time. Grant, too, eventually succumbed to the relentless outwards force generated by our spinning of the wheel. I, however, pressed on for the entire ride, accelerating us more and more, bit by bit, even as my arms turned to rubber and my bones to paper, even as the spinning of our teacup managed to almost surpass the speed of my hands, even past the point where the other four told me that continuing was hopeless, I was driven on my a fire within my body that until that point I had never experienced, by a steely determination which kept me constantly in motion, which urged me to move despite my body's screams of agony. The other four were pressed against the edge of the teacup, occasionally reaching out an arm in an attempt to aid me, but usually being deflected by the sheer force of our inexorable rotation.
And just like that, it was over. The brakes came back on and our little teacup shuttered to a stop, roughly tossing us all in the direction of our motion. We opened the teacup door and staggered to our feet, laughing at the absurdity of what we had just experienced.
We went on more rides after that, of course, but it was almost as if they were only a formality. We all agreed that the teacup ride, which had at first glance seemed so tame and innocent, had given us by far the most intense experience of the day. There were some highlights in the last rides; one let me experience weightlessness and nerd out about parabolic arcs to Leah, while another had Lili and I ride with a cute little girl who was much braver than I probably would have been under the circumstances.
Looking over the map of Elitch's, we decided that we had gone on every ride we had any interest in riding, and we drove back to Boulder. By the time we returned to Fairview it was fully night, dark enough that a few lonely stars could be seen in the night sky. We took a few pictures, said our goodbyes, and headed our separate ways.
And that is, as best as I can recall it, the account of our trip to Elitch's on July 19th of last year. Flux informs me that I'm waking up in seven hours. One last thing before I go to sleep, then. Although, as I've said many times, I don't remember any of the details surrounding my first try at this post, one thing that I do remember is that the title was important. Somehow there is a lesson to be learned about this. Maybe that even a small amount of acceleration, as long as it's positive, can add up over time to become a powerful force. Or maybe the title was bringing into the spotlight that this day was the first time I truly felt shifting acceleration, and interpreted the twists of a rollercoaster not only as thrill-providing high-speed events but also as actual shifts in the direction of gravity, local alterations to what "downwards" meant for me. Or maybe it was something else entirely. One thing's for sure, though: it's 1:12 AM and I need to wake up at 8:00 today. See you all next time.
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