The Titan

Last Saturday my brother and a friend and I went to Six Flags. As a grand finale, L and I decided to ride the Titan, finish the day off right. Now, I must admit. I was scared. I was really scared. The first drop was going to be more than I was going to be able to handle... or so I thought. But nevertheless, we filed into suite with everyone else and waited. We happened to get caught in line next to two young boys, Jeremy and Sam. Jeremy was a course young boy, cursing when he thought it counted and making it known, whenever and however possible that he was a tough kid. He was by no means a wimp. Sam on the other hand, had a gentle spirit and a kind presence. Sam was smart, even wise. He had kind eyes and a genuine concern for others that could be seen from a mile away. In standing in line for the 30 or so minutes we did, the four of us got to talking. Us, twenty-somthings talking to these 11 year olds about life. Interesting. And then the time came. Sam and I were nervous. In fact, if I hadn't been working so hard at keeping Sam's mind off the impending doom, I would have been in fits.

It was our turn.

Sam looked distressed.

"Think about something else. What's your favorite thing to do?" I asked.
"anything but this!"
I smiled.
"Well, who is your favorite person to be with?"
He thought a moment.
"My parents."
"Well, think about them. What's your favorite memory with them?"
He thought again... his mind going somewhere I was unable follow.
"When I was three, in the hospital."
"What were you in the hospital for?"
"I had a brain tumor."
"Really? Did they take it out?"
"Yes. I had my last check up last year. My uncle died of the same kind of brain tumor. But mine's all gone." Sam said all of this with such a peace. His eyes tranquil.
"Well, that's good its all gone."

The train of cars for the Titan lurched and groaned to a halt right in front of us. The gates opened and we were welcomed to take our seats. L and I sat together. Jeremy and Sam in the car in front of us. Jeremy in front of L, Sam directly in front of me. The yellow bars came down over our laps and L noticed, I could not see his face, nor the top of his head, that Sam had begun to cry. We asked the attendant to make sure he was o.k. The attendant leaned over, mumbled something, Sam reached up, gave him a high five, the attendant smiled and we were off.

Scaling the height of the first drop was nothing short of unnerving. The Titan dwarfs the Texas Giant. Dwarfs it. As mentioned before, I couldn't see Sam, but Jeremy was looking around anxiously and he was attempting to communicate something to Sam. I decided to cheer the young lads on. And maybe myself as well...

"It's o.k. guys... you can do it! WE can make it!"

When we reached the top, I thought I might go out of my mind when...

And it was all a blur... BUT IT WAS FREAKIN' AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! That thing pulls G's!!! IT ROCKED!!!! I went from sheer, grief stricken terror to 85 mile an hour bliss!

When the rocket screeched to a halt at the end of the line I was whoopin' and hollerin' like an idiot. It was such an adrenaline rush!

"Sam, Jeremy, you guys good?"

Two hands flew back from the seat in front of me (and I was elated!)... not a sound, no words, just two hands... the universal sign... it was time to give this young man some well deserved skin. Panic again hit.

"Sam! I can't reach you!"

From the left side of his seat, a hand flew around and I flung myself forward, straining... please... I HAD TO REACH!....

POP! Five big ones for the big man Sam!

The metal snake crept up to the pavilion, released its tight grip on us and off we went. The four of us chatted all the way down the stairs. When we'd made our way out of the maze it was time to part ways. It was nearly time for the park to close and I'm sure the boys had some sort of parental figure to be meeting somewhere.

"Well, we'll see y'all later!"
Everyone just kind of looked at me. Yeah, guess that was kind of a dumb thing to say. But I wished I would see them later. It's what I would have said to my kids at the Y...

All in all, it was a good day. Rode a roller coaster for the first time with my brother, had fun with a new friend and met some cool kids.

I hope Sam and Jeremy have good parents to go home to. I know I did. If only we were all so lucky.