Six Flags

Everyone has a place that means something special for them. Maybe a place where something really good happened to them. Or maybe something not so good. But, the place that has consistently been a special place for me is Six Flags Over Georgia. I know that might seem strange, especially since I have those places in Europe and Israel, as well as other places in the States and Puerto Rico, but looking back on a place that has made a big impact on my life and that's Six Flags. Why you ask? Well, let's look at it. I went there in high school and have the world's record for the number of people one can cram into a log and the log flume ride (7). After that, the ride said you could put no more than 4 people in a log. In the summer of 1970, I went to Six Flags with the youth group from Kilbourne Park Baptist Church. The people who saved my life. I was with Craig, Pam and Gail. It was like a foursome date. We had a lot of fun together, until we got separated by going for ice cream. Craig and I spent the rest of the day searching for Pam and Gail. We found out that the girls were looking for us, too. As they were looking for us, we found out later that we were both circling in the same direction behind them. At one point, Craig and I changed directions, and so did Pam and Gail. We decided to just go on the rides and enjoy the park without the girls. On the car ride, we looked off in the distance and saw Pam and Gail on another car far ahead of us. We yelled out to them and waved. They waved back. When we got off of the ride, there they were. 3 hours of being apart. It was quite amazing. When I was in college, I went to Six Flags. It was raining, and I went on the Scream Machine. The speed of the roller coaster made the rain feel like bullets. The brakes on the roller coaster failed with the rain, so there was an element of danger on it. It was great fun. On our way back to school, we got pulled on I-85 by a local cop for going 115mph. Thankfully, I wasn't driving, but the cop looks at us and asks if we had been to Six Flags. He had a little sense of humor. We had to take up a collection to give to him, so we wouldn't go to jail. When I worked at Belk, I went to Six Flags with my friends Del and Chris. On one trip, we went with my friend George to stay overnight. We were going to stay at a motel right by the front gate, but it was a dump. The air conditioner was broken, and there were no light bulbs in the bathroom. We ended up moving to the Red Roof Inn. When we were going back to Columbia, we got pulled over in North, SC by a local cop for going 40 in a 25 zone. Chris was driving and didn't see the 25 sign behind a tree on the side of a building. You see a little trend developing? Chris, Del and I went back to Six Flags in October. It was cold, and they had snow flurries. We wore light jackets, because it was a lot warmer in Columbia. We rode the rides but had to hold on to the ride through our jacket pockets. We would go into shops to get warm. One clerk thought we were stealing something and called security. We went to the haunted house. It was quite scary and dark. One guy started up a chainsaw right behind me. I saw my life pass before my eyes. We left the park freezing to death. I haven't been back to Six Flags. But, it has made a serious impression on my life. Mostly fun.