This ride’s worth a half hour wait.
Even longer, so don’t hesitate.
Thirty seconds of hell
Then a heavenly spell
Back in line, “Yes! The park’s open late!”
Linked to dVerse Poetics hosted by Lillian with amusement park as a prompt.
Photo by the author.
Ha ha! Instead of instant gratification, it’s hours of waiting for a few moments of heaven and hell (then doing it all over again). 😁
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I have often wondered if the waiting in line was worth it, but the waiting does let you recover from the last ride which didn’t last very long. Thanks!
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I suppose if the weather is pleasant, waiting isn’t so bad. You’re welcome!
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giggles
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Smiling I am………so so typical…waiting in line and listening to the screams, riding the ride and doing the screams and oh how awful it is and then….right back in line! 🙂 I just advise people not to eat 3 hotdogs and a box of Skittles before riding anyting circular — which is sadly and disastrously what my son did!
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That’s right. It is best not to eat anything before going on those rides although I have been known to make the same mistake. Thanks!
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I think I prefer to miss the 30 seconds of hell and just go for the heavenly spell! Thanks for the humor!
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Once the children are old enough to go on the rides alone they didn’t want me to go with them. It’s more peaceful on my stomach, but I kind of missed being a necessary security blanket. Thanks!
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When my girls were young, We would go to the state fair on bracelet day, one price for all the rides you could fit in, but of course, being that in a 7 hour day, with the long lines, the kids only rode 6 rides–& I never looked forward to it.
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It is a challenge to calculate the optimal way to get the maximum number of rides in during the hours the park is open. They seemed to do a good job of it.
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Will gladly, give up my spot, in the line-up, to whoever wants it. As I can feel my anxiety and fear of heights, going ballistic. My brother loves these type of rides, not I.
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The lines are also shorter on milder rides like the carousel which are more relaxing and last longer. Thanks!
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i stand waiting for my kids to take the ride like this one, they have to go on it no matter how long the line or wait, I am left with bags, coats and food while they giggle excitedly even before they get on, lovely description of a thrilling ride.
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There is a lot of giggling excitement and rushing to get in line. They do need someone to hold things for them because they can’t take them on the wilder rides with them.
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Another coaster boaster! Short, sweet and thrilling, Frank!
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I guess I do like them especially because the children find them so entertaining.
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Haha! That’s exactly it!
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The simple, but physically wild, pleasures of amusement parks. Thanks!
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My pleasure.
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Of course you used the limerick for this prompt! It makes so much sense in retrospect! I also like how the limerick (a short-thrill of a poetic form) is aptly describing the short thrill of the coaster. Clever move, and I enjoyed both the form choice and the content. 🙂
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I am glad you liked the limerick form choice. I figured it might be too short, but then I thought those rides last about the same amount of time it takes to read a limerick a couple of times. Thanks!
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What a fun trip to the fiar. I haven’t been on the rides in years, preferring to nose about and check out all the exhibits, including the Elvis impersonators.
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We only went to the fairs with those big rides when our children needed us to take them there or watch over them, but I still like walking through the small fairs our town puts on in the central park with carnival type attractions, or art or music. But those are smaller events.
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LOL at this clever, clever bit:
“Thirty seconds of hell
Then a heavenly spell”
😉
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There is a little of both involved although some think it is all heaven and it may well be. I was glad the duration of hell was the shorter of the two. Thanks!
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Haha! I would do it gain and again and again and again. Heaven or hell, I’d take the ride either way. ❤
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And we did until right up to the park closing time. Thanks!
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Haha! That’s a memory for keeps.
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Yes, I do remember it… always worth another wait.
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As a parent, I enjoyed waiting and watching while our children took rides over and over again. They did not seem to mind the wait, but just kept looking forward to it. Thanks!
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A great title for a limerick, Frank! It’s short, like the ride, and sweet! I had a long wait to read it, too, as I was too tired to do any reading last night.
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Thanks! I tend to think that one needs a muse to read and understand a poem as well as to write it. I don’t suspect she needs to rest, but I can’t hear what she’s saying unless I get some rest.
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Perfect Frank…over before you can blink. Maybe the accumulation of short ‘go’s’ add up to one long one 😉
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I was glad some of those rides were over quickly. They made me too tense to even scream. Thanks!
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This made me chuckle. I don’t go on rides like this–I can get motion sickness on a swing. 🙂
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I have been on that ride only once. My children insisted I try it. By the time they were old enough to go on something like that they normally didn’t want me to go with them. Since they asked me to go with them I felt I would not miss that possibly last opportunity to do so.
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I am roaring, of course. Love the tone, the reality, and the horrifying belly-churning memories it brews.
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Some of those rides are belly-churning. I haven’t tried bungee jumping or parachuting. My most fearful ride is the Ferris wheel. It goes up way to high. Thanks!
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It’s one of those rare circumstances where a person can test the limits of their courage without fear of dying! A fun poem, Frank.
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The fair is usually safe although I have heard of accidents. Thanks!
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It really is a wonder for me – how people can bear to stand in line for quite a long time for something that is wild and crazy.
Your piece summrized what amusement park rides are (to me) without the ‘heaven’ part.
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Some think it is all heaven. I preferred watching my children have fun and participating on the ride to the minimal extent required to make sure they were safe and happy. It is a mystery to me as well why people go on those rides, but the lines are long and my children enjoyed them. I enjoyed them too when I was a child.
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That’s exactly how it makes me feel! The best coasters (or rides) always have the longest lines it’s true. I admire brevity, Frank.
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You can tell the best rides by the length of the lines. That leads one to an interesting optimization problem: how to get the most rides in given the lines before the park closed.
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