BACK IN THE NEW YORK GROOVE

Margaret and Janette's Totally Outrageous Adentures !n t"e B!g A##le$$$

We're Mo%!le %ut We're Eas!ly &!s'o(%o%ulated
September 14
th
, 2014
Whew! The Worst part is over. Thank God for special needs assistance. We explained that we don't
need wheelchairs, just someone with a level head to help us navigate. Oh no, not again! There's this
famil with a crank toddler who seem to turn up everwhere we go and the're !"G#T #$!$!! %&'
"'m finding it hard to settle to write at the moment.
12:50 pm
#ere we are finall on the plane. Takeoff and the glorious view never gets old. "t's so nice to finall (e
on our wa. "'ve (een listening to )"** and reading +#per(ole and a #alf,. "t's freaking hsterical!!
-ast night was a restless night, of course. " awoke at . thinking it was alread time to get up. " know "
slept (ecause " had m usual share of weird dreams, one involving /anette smoking and another
a(out me owning a ver strange old&school 01. plaer that was almost as (ig as an 2&track cassette
tape.
" am thankful for all the assistance we've had. We managed to (ree3e through securit with minimal
interaction and 4uestions and 5rank 1ants' famil got on a different plane from ours so we were
relieved when the left. There's a (a( on this plane though. 6t least it's far (ehind us. When the kid's
famil seemed to (e dawdling near our seats and finall got moving, the Star Spangled Banner was
plaing on m 01. plaer.
" alread set out what clothes "'d (e wearing the night (efore. " have m jeans, m ellow +pschedelic,
horse T&shirt and m (lue tiger sweatshirt. "'d originall em(roidered it for m mom. 6nd, of course, m
756 jacket is in the overhead compartment at the moment. 8esterda we +jettisoned, several items to
lighten our loads. "'m ama3ed that the first person who assisted us could tell that m suitcase was
under 9: pounds just ( lifting it!
" have to chuckle a(out the pen "'ve (een using. "t must have come from ;urham 0ental #ealth. "
decided to +0argaret <ranklini3e, it ( covering it with colourful stickers to cover some lame annoing
slogan a(out parenting. "t said something like +Taking 5are of 8ourself 0akes 8ou a =etter 1arent.,
>h, #$--O? The reason " am *O 7OT a parent is (ecause " can =6!$-8 T6)$ 56!$ O<
08*$-<!!! *O T#$!$! NYAAAAAAA!
While we were in the departure lounge, " couldn't help (ut notice a woman who was $%T!$0$-8
pregnant. WT< was she thinking traveling in her condition? *he looked like she was a(out to drop her
load an minute now!! "'m glad she wasn't on our plane (ecause " would have (een terrified of her
giving (irth during the flight. "t has happened, ou know. Thankfull not during an flight "'ve (een on!
" can't (elieve how fast this flight has gone. The just announced that we'll (e landing in half an hour.
We can hardl wait to get to our hotel room and just veg out for awhile after having claimed our turf.
6:10 pm
" don't think we're venturing out an further this evening. We are exhausted! "t's just nice to claim our
turf and mellow out for the time (eing.
When we arrived at /<) airport, (efore we even claimed our luggage, the first thing we did was (u
ourselves +" @. 78, T&shirts. We've (een wanting those from the get&go!
;espite the fact that 7ew 8ork is supposedl so (ig and (ustle, the /<) airport seems so much more
peaceful and less frenetic that the Toronto airport. We just seemed to glide along and when we arrived
at the (aggage carousel, our suitcases seemed to show up just like that.
Then we had to wait A: minutes for our shuttle (us. 6ll " had eaten toda was a chocolate chip muffin
for (reakfast. /anette had eaten a muffin for (reakfast too this morning along with some cereal and
she (ought herself a plain croissant (ack in Toronto (efore we got on the plane. =efore we got on the
plane " was *O 7OT hungr. "n fact " felt just a little 4ueas. =utterflies in m stomach, go figure. "
alwas tend to feel guilt a(out eating when " fl anwa.
6t least once we were on the plane " was relieved " could (uckle m seat (elt without having to ask for
an extension.
The time we'd spent fling on the plane seemed to go much faster than the time we spent waiting in
the departure lounge. /anette didn't even need her i1od, (ut " enjoed listening to )"** and reading
+#per(ole and a #alf, and we (oth drank tomato juice.
While we waited for our shuttle (us to take us to the -ong "sland #ilton, " had a ogurt.
We shared our shuttle (us with three women who had just come (ack from Walt ;isne World. The
seemed to (e regular passengers who knew the driver. 6ll three had heav 7e 8ork accents.
The ride seemed to take forever (ecause we were (oth 4uite tired and hungr. 6nd we were (oth
thinking the same thing. The first thing we wanted to do once we checked into our room is go eat an
earl supper.
The hotel is a (eautiful place. " took a picture of the pool and the colourful artwork in the lo((.
When we arrived at our room, we dropped off our stuff and " changed m shoes. "t felt good to get out
of m stuff sneakers and smell socks and put m sandals on. " gra((ed some mone to put into m
pouch (ecause " didn't feel like carring m (ackpack.
6t the (ar, /anette ordered fish B chips and " had the seafood chowder and southwest chicken flat&
(read pi33a.
Then we stopped at the little hotel convenience store to get some munchies to enjo (ack in our room.
"t was ridiculousl expensive, (ut /anette (ought herself a couple slices of loaf cake and a couple
packets of 5hee3&"ts and " (ought a (ag of pret3els and a tu( of #aagen ;a3s mint chocolate&chip ice
cream. We sat down at the little ta(le in our room and shared it with two spoons. "t reall hit the spot!
What's a holida without ice cream?
Then " raced around putting stuff awa while /anette phoned home to let 1aul know she'd arrived
safel. *he was having trou(le with her cell phone. *he was having trou(le with this phone too. "t has
two sets of (uttons. The ones on the (ase seem to (e just for show. /anette found herself getting
frustrated so " tried to phone ;ave first and " got through just fine. "n the meantime the technician we'd
asked for showed up at the door so " answered and said we didn't need his help after all " was a(le to
help her phone 1aul after all, as well as her (rother.
" was feeling kind of grung so " took a 4uick shower. The tap was kind of confusing so " reall had to
fiddle around with it. When " was done, /anette had her (ath. "t sounded like she was splashing up
4uite a storm in there.
We're just relaxing here and " am enjoing wearing m new )"** night shirt. "t arrived just in time for
this trip. " got ;ave one just like it for his (irthda too.
The (eds in this place are perfectC not too hard nor too high off the ground.
All's R!g"t W!t" t"e World A)ter All
Monday, September 15
th
"t's official! We're off to see the =ug 5arousel tomorrow!! 86668!!! We're relieved to have finall
connected with !ichard. 6t first it looked like everthing was conspiring against us. $speciall the
phones! 6nd we were alread fractious and discom(o(ulated to (egin with. 6t least (ecause of toda's
journe, we alread know how to get to 1ennslvania station.
*o much for taking a long walk after (reakfast. /anette and " enjoed a heart, salu(rious feast at the
(reakfast (uffet onl to learn the hard wa that it was not included and we had to pa extra for it so we
ended up charging it to our room (ecause we didn't have cash with us.
-ast night we watched a movie, Her, a(out a man who falls in love with his computer's artificiall
intelligent operating sstem. The concept was good (ut we found the movie itself kind of slow&paced
and tedious. "f we were watching it on regular TD and not having to pa for it we pro(a(l wouldn't
have watched the whole thing.
When we finished (reakfast, our group was alread in the lo(( and the said the were leaving 7OW
so we had to rush (ack to the room and get our stuff. We would have to (e at the end of the World's
-ongest #allwa! When we made it (ack to the lo((, everone was (oarding the shuttle (us. "t was a
short ride, (ut we had onl minutes to catch the train and onl stupid automated machines to (u our
tickets from. " hope the driver will help us when we have to do this again tomorrow. The machine kept
rejecting m EF: (ills. "t seems to hate the crisp new ones " get from the (ank, so tonight "'ve (een
crumpling m mone tring to rough it up a (it.
We took the train from <armingdale to 1enn station and at 1enn we stuck together to make our wa to
the next train that took us to 5onvent, 7ew /erse. This is what we saw while we waited for our trainG
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIhc&99-JOK:0
Towards the end of the journe a famil got on (oard with two small childrenC a (a( and a toddler.
The toddler seemed prett happ and well&(ehaved, (ut of course the (a( #6; to start screaming. "
listened to )"** on m 01. plaer the rest of the wa there and we were relieved to see them get off
two stops (efore we did.
5arl ;inger picked us up at the 5onvent *tation in his car. " rode in the passenger seat and /anette
sat in the (ack with three other people. "t was a tight s4uee3e and some(od had to sit on someone
else's lap while the rest of the group traveled in another vehicle.
"t didn't take long to arrive at the ;inger #ouse. *uch a (eautiful place in such a peaceful
neigh(ourhood. We clim(ed the front steps and the first thing we saw when we entered the house was
a pair of (eautiful female (and organ figures, and then a magnificent ;ent3el lion stripped down to its
natural wood.
"n the living room stood the magnificent *tein B Goldstein stander pictured on the cover of 5harlotte
;inger's (ook, and in another room (ehind us stood the wonderful (lack and white 0uller "ndian pon
with its ela(orate (eads and trappings. =oth these horses have (een pictured on postage stamps.
;elightful surprises lurked around ever corner of this house. 6 prancing ;ent3el goat stood at the top
of the stairs and an "llions rounding (oard hung on the wall a(ove the (ed in the master (edroom.
The (asement was the (est of all! The first thing " saw when " walked into that room was a vast
assortment of miniature amusement rides. There was a roller&coaster, some kind of switch(ack
railwa ride with little cars going over hills, and most uni4uel, a ride that consisted of five or six
multiple <erris Wheels travelling around in a (igger circle hori3ontall.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI);%<*7a&xhA
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI);%<*7a&xhA
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI/rJvi(8F1L8
"'ve pro(a(l never seen such a thing in real life (ecause it might take a long time to load passengers!
6nd, of course, there were miniature carousels. " took pictures of at east two of them.
"t made me sad t notice that on one of them there were a few horses with their heads missing! There
was also an ama3ing amount of miniature circus models everwhere. " took video footage, tring to
pan around the room to film as much as possi(le.
=est of all was the collection of carousel horses! There must have (een roughl a(out a hundred of
them there, as well as several menagerie figures. "t was an ama3ing assortment. 0 favorite had to (e
an "llions stander with a silver mane, flowers and ela(orate netting.
0an of these horses were 4uite huge. 6none who sas +carousels are just for children, would have
to eat their words at the sight of man of these a(solutel massive majestic steeds. "t makes me kind f
sad that the are just standing around in this (asement when the could still (e sweeping riders awa
on a magical journe. There's enough to populate an entire carousel or two! *o much to see! *o man
of these horses were a(solutel (reathtaking! There were two different 1arker -illie =ellesC one in old
park paint and one in primer.
6nd another 1arker in primer with flowers and (eautiful pink gemstones. 1art of me wanted to take
them all home with me! 6nd there were rounding (oards and other components including several
;ent3el /ester heads.
We enjoed sandwiches, potato salad, macaroni salad and chips for lunch and there were cupcakes
for dessert. Wine and (eer were availa(le (ut we were content with our iced tea.
We staed until around FG::. Others lingered longer. "t was seven minutes until the next train so we
felt like we'd reall have to hurr. Go figure. The train was late, or so it seemed.
When we got on the train we just 3oned out and listened to our music for most of the journe. 6rriving
at 1enn *tation was a nightmare (ecause ( then it was reall getting crowded and frenetic and " had
to go to the (athroom reall (adl. "'m afraid " was rapidl losing +spoons, so to speak. " was having
one of those horri(le moments when m (rain was giving me the e4uivalent of the =ig #ourglass in
Windows %1 or the spinning (lue circle in Windows J. There were washroom signs and arrows
everwhere and no washroom to (e found and everone " asked directions for seemed to (e speaking
gi((erish! ;on't just T$-- 0$ where to go! *#OW 0$! $verthing just snapped and " had a meltdown
and screamed WHERE THE FUCK IS THE WASHROOM!!!? 6t least it was right there (ut "'m
afraid "'d officiall crashed for the da!
When " came out of the washroom stall, the first thing " saw was a pregnant woman. " secretl felt like
punching that annoing orange&striped (each (all. The world is alread over&populated. " get so sick of
seeing (a(ies everwhere!
We felt drained during the rest of the journe home and when we saw /amaica station " thought we
were almost there! 6t least it was more than halfwa. There was still #icksville and =ethpage to go. "
don't think we passed 0ineola on the wa home. " remem(ered joking earlier that da that 0icke
0ouse's girlfriend had a (rand of cooking oil maned after her!
<inall we arrived at <armingdale (ut we had to wait a few minutes for our shuttle (us. 6 gu showed
up with this reall cool (right orange (iccle with small wheels. "t was the kind that folds in half. "
complimented on his (ike and said m mom had a similar one in (lue. " said she got t from the ;utch
store, that it was made in #olland. #is (ike was made in #olland too. " (egan to feel nostalgic and
missed m old (ike that " used to ride when " lived in -indsa.
When we arrived (ack at the hotel we were exhausted. The first thing we wanted to do was eat so
/anette and " sat down at the hotel lo(( restaurant and ordered supper. Toda we (oth had the
seafood chowder and /anette had the southwestern chicken flat&(read "'d had esterda and " had the
hone&(our(on chicken wings. We ended up trading and sharing a few things from each other's
plates.
While we were eating, ;on -argent came up to our ta(le so " asked him if he had !ichard's phone
num(er as we had no wa of getting (ack to him. ;on did indeed have !ichard's num(er so he said
he'd phone our room to message us.
<or dessert, /anette and " shared the coconut creme&(rulee. "t was kind of small (ut it was creme&
(rulee done right and the crust on top tasted like toasted marshmallow.
*oon we were (ack in our room and " had to go to the (athroom (ecause " had to take a #>G$ dump!
" WO>-; have to (e right in the middle of it while ;on phoned us with !ichard's num(er, leaving poor
/anette having to struggle with that complicated phone on her own! We fum(led with the phone in our
room (ut there were too man (uttons. We finall managed to reach !ichard on his cell phone from
/anette's cell phone onl to have the WO!*T 5O77$5T"O7 $D$!!! "t was almost impossi(le to
understand what he was saing and we weren't so sure he could hear us either. =oth of us were
having meltdowns when we got off the phone with him and feeling so fra33led after toda's events that
we almost called off going on tomorrow's adventure. "t just felt like everthing was conspiring against
us!
=ut !ichard managed to call us (ack a(out half an hour later and talk us (ack into our plans after all.
6fter all, tomorrow is his (irthda and he's had to deal with offering his service as a tour guide and
no(od showing up. " know how he feels. " get so tired of no(od showing up for m ideas either. *o
we've planned a wonderful and exciting da for tomorrow after all. We're going to go out for a nice
(irthda dinner somewhere and even see Times *4uare. 6nd we'll get to see the =ug 5arousel after
all. /anette has wanted to so (adl!
6nd it's good to know that if we do miss the last shuttle (us in <armingdale, a ca( (ack to our hotel is
onl eight (ucks.
=efore " go to (ed " want to wash m hair and read some H!per"#le and a Hal$. -ast night " was
reading us out loud the chapter a(out depression and " caught the most contagious case of the
giggles when " got to the part a(out the kernel of corn under the refrigerator. " swear that after having
read that passage " will never think of corn the same wa again! " must have (een laughing as hard as
6llie herself when she discovered that corn kernel under the fridge in the first place! " hope other
readers have laughed the same wa.
T"e *!'+ Goose Tra!n
Tuesday, September 16
th
, 2014
Toda has (asicall (een go&go&go nonstop. "'ve reall had to find m inner ninja! We woke up earl
and (ought coffee from the place downstairs to go with the muffins /anette (ought us esterda. 6t
least the coffee was a normal price.
The shuttle picked us up at KG.: and we got our tickets from the machine. Three other carousel people
were also taking the train to 1enn station (ut the had other plans.
We kept getting the giggles (ecause the train sounded like a sick goose whenever it honked. What
made it even funnier was the fact that "'d (een reading a funn stor involving a goose in H!per"#le
and a Hal$ last night (efore (ed. "t was the one where a goose ended up in 6llie's house and tried to
attack ;uncan. $ver time the horn honked "'d sa +The goose is gonna getcha!,
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI&;6ni%M&vhg
>nfortunatel, " think the gu sitting across from us was getting annoed and tried to give us a not&so&
su(tle hint. "t's a good thing /anette had her i1od on (ecause the gu across from us was plaing the
most horri(le video on his i1hone. 6t least it wasn't a cring (a( (ut almost as (ad. "t was this
horri(le woman who was elling and swearing at some(od and calling them +fat,!! " put m 01.
plaer on for the rest of the trip and didn't laugh at the horn anmore.
When we got to 1enn station we found !ichard and =o( at the 0c;onald's as planned. We needed
food and we needed it n#%! We got croissant sandwiches at ;unkin ;onuts and followed !ichard to
the food court (ecause he had to sit down n#%!! We were almost thrown out (ecause the don't
allowed outside food at the food court so /anette (ought us some cookies.
Then we had to follow !ichard at (reakneck speed through the cit. #e walks ver fast and we had to
run to keep up with him. " nearl had a meltdown. I CAN&T MO'E THAT FAST! " shouted.
+8ou're going to have to., said a random stranger.
+<uck off., " 4uietl muttered under m (reath.
"t seemed lie we were running a marathon to get to the place where we caught the (us to the 3oo. "
was relieved when we made it there with time to spare.
We were prett nearl the onl passengers on (oard and enjoed a more relaxing journe the rest of
the wa. We enjoed the sights along the wa and were at the 3oo in a(out half an hour. 6t the
admission kiosk we paid E.. each for the +Total Noo $xperience, which allowed us access to all the
attractions.
The first thing we did was head to the (ug carousel which WO>-; have to (e all the wa at the other
end of the park! When "'0 in charge of the world all parks and 3oos will have their carousels !"G#T 6T
T#$ $7T!675$ so it's the <"!*T thing people see. " suppose that makes too much sense!
=ut there it was in all its glor! /anette chose a lad(ird and " rode a monarch (utterfl caterpillar.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIrF(ssNuaFG0
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI*l>n(!=wnL6
Then we got (ack on for a second ride. This time she rode some kind of fl and " rode a praing
mantis.
We went (ack for a third ride. This time we wanted to ride the ;ung =eetle 5hariot. >nfortunatel, a
famil with a =68=$$ had to swoop past us and snatch it! We high&tailed it as far awa from them as
possi(le (ut at the last second the dou(le&crossed us and plonked their repulsive little creature onto
a lad(ug. Of course their repulsive little creature screamed through the entire ride!! OGP " popped in
m 01. plaer and listened to the 5ars for the rest of the ride. Our hearts sank as the rest of the =a(
1arade trundled in, descending upon the carousel like locusts. We decided this was our cue to get out
of here!
*o we made our wa to the gift shop. We were immediatel drawn to these colourful tie&ded T&shirts.
" was almost tempted to get a hoodie instead (ut decided not to (ecause " prefer a hoodie that has a
3ipper down the front and this one didn't. " (ought .&; polar (ear postcards for m hus(and and for
*haron and her hus(and. " (ought mself a necklace with a cute turtle and " (ought us matching
(ookmarks with lad(irds and mushrooms. " also (ought m hus(and a personali3ed ke&chain that
said +;ave, in moving .&; letters.
We stopped at the cafe to get a snack andHor drink. /anette (ought herself a coffee and an ice cream
cone. " (ought a cookie dough ice cream (ar to eat now and a !ed Delvet cupcake to enjo in our
room later tonight. " almost (ought a (ottle of chocolate milk (ut " was a(solutel *#O5)$; to
discover it was nearl *"% ;O--6!*!
The next thing we did was go to the !eptile #ouse " shot footage of the tortoises and other creatures.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIo3$=j1oATr8
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIo$*Gt!9.rc
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI:F4m$Q)rp<2
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI(*"kpi.<%iw
!ichard or =o( was telling us that a scene from #arr 1otter was filmed there. " soon learned the hard
wa whilst tring to converse with a pthon that " do *O 7OT speak 1arselmouth. Go figure. " alwas
knew " was a Griffndor girl at heart. Or !avenclaw. Time to find me the *orting #at.
<un <actG the *orting #at's song can (e sung to the tune of the Gilligan's "sland theme!
The 3oo seemed prett spread out. $verwhere takes so long to walk to. =ut at least we did the
monorail ride. That was prett interesting. /anette took pictures and filmed footage with her i1od
Touch.
*oon it was time to find our wa (ack to the (us. There simpl wasn't enough time for another ride on
the =ug carousel.
When we got on the (us we got off in front of the li(rar where " took /anette's picture with one of the
lions. There are two lion statues that grace the steps of the li(rar. Their names are 1atience and
<ortitude.
We (ree3ed through =rant 1ark where we found the delightful, small, <rench&themed carousel.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI#ex-3<NRA)0
We all went for a ride. /anette rode a cat, =o( rode a ra((it, !ichard rode a horse and " chose a
(rilliant green frog. " love froggies!! =ack when we'd (een in the !eptile =uilding "'d (een admiring a
(eautiful (lue one.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIw(rTut2jj$:
6fter we enjoed our carousel ride in =rant 1ark we hustled off to !ed -o(ster. We were all prett
hungr ( then. This was the first time "'ve eaten at a !ed -o(ster in Q2 ears. "n fact the last time "
ate at a !ed -o(ster was when !ichard was visiting me in Toronto wa (ack in QKKM. ;elicious
cheese (iscuits were served to us while we waited for our meals. "t's a good thing " onl ordered the
half&si3ed portion of shrimp fettuccine 6lfredo rather than the full one (ecause even that was freakin'
huge!!! " ordered (roccoli and asparagus on the side. "t was so good! /anette had the chicken (reast.
6gain we traded a few injittiments from each other's plates. "t's good to know the now serve chicken
(ecause the reason " haven't (een to a !ed -o(ster in so man ears is (ecause ;ave doesn't like
seafood.
We also had dessert. *ince it was !ichard's (irthda, he had chocolate cake with ice cream. /anette
had some kind of apple pastr with ice cream and " had the carrot cake which was dri33led in a
delecta(le caramel sauce.
" gave !ichard his (irthda presentC the ;ent3el ra((it 4uilt "'d madeG
6fter dinner we made our wa through the cit. /anette and " had taken to holding hands wherever we
went just for safet's sake so we wouldn't get separated from each other among the crowd. 7ew 8ork
is so crowded and frenetic it makes Toronto look like a ghost town!! "t was fascinating seeing all the
colourful lights everwhere! We even saw the (all that the drop at Times *4uare on 7ew 8ear's $ve.
6nd it ended up we just #6; to ride the <erris wheel at Tos ! >s! "t was E9 per person so " treated
us all. This had to (e the most unusual <erris wheel "'ve ever seen. $ach gondola is different. 0
favorite was 0 -ittle 1on&themed. There was one with *coo( ;oo and *hagg, a giant -ittle Tkes
to car, *ponge(o( *4uarepants, a pink =ar(ie car, one with $.T, a fire engine and more. We were all
going to ride in the $.T gondola (ut the four of us together exceeded the J:: pound weight limit so
!ichard and =o( staed there while /anette and " rode in the fire engine.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI#/cF>15K8J2BlistI>>:n8vN8n=hpL4NgQ/MM-*8w
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI%-O7=nW4-32BlistI>>:n8vN8n=hpL4NgQ/MM-*8w
$verthing was so colourful and exciting! The store even has a *coops ! >s ice cream place and
Wonka cand shop.
Once again " ended up spending more mone! " (ought ;ave a +=ig 6pple, full of chocolates and a
cute little stuffed 7ew 8ork ca(. " (ought mself a prett head(and with (lack and red roses. " want to
wear it to the (an4uet on *aturda. 0 (ackpack was getting full so " (ought mself a 3ippered +" @.
78, tote (ag. " figured "'d use it to carr tomorrow's (rekkie if there was time to stop at 5inna(on or
get muffins at 1enn station. " could hardl (elieve it was alread Q:G::.
-ast (ut not least, we had to push our wa to times *4uare where we had to have our picture taken.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIFx0M-)=:FwBfeatureIoutu.(e
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIcD3oc-c#*=$BfeatureIoutu.(e
Then it was off to the su(wa. <irst it was one stop and then we had to get off that train and onto
another and get off at 1enn *tation after all. The place was (ecoming more familiar to us and we
found the !onkonkoma train to <armingdale easil enough and didn't have to wait long to get on.
Once we were on, a woman with a toddler would have to (ring him to our part of the train. 7o sooner
than he'd sat down, the little (ugger would have to start cring. Wh do we 6-W68* have to end up
with cring kids on our premises? $ven with our listening devices on we could still see his snivveling
contorted red face so we high&tailed it out to the next car. Of course in this car there were no seats
next to each other so " ended up sitting (ehind /anette. " would have wanted the seat across the aisle
from her (ut there was this gu stuffing his face with 5aesar salad and hogging the space next to
himself with several (ags.
6t least when we were a(out halfwa home, the people sitting next to /anette had to get off so we
could sit together after all. " had (een writing a(out toda's adventure all along so the journe went
4uickl for me. =efore we knew it we were (ack in <armingdale.
On our wa out of the train station, as we headed for the ca(, it was nice to hear the sound of crickets.
6s the driver (rought us (ack to the hotel we noticed a small amusement park with a colourful <erris
wheel and a swing ride. There was no carousel there (ut we're thinking of going there and checking it
out *unda if we're not too tired.
When we arrived (ack at the hotel " had to take a shower. 0 feet are killing me!
,!)e- t"e .n!erse and A'ant"us ,eaes
Wednesday, September, 17
th
" was awakened ( m alarm at MGQ9, followed ( the wake&up call. *ince /anette wasn't going to the
tech conference, she chose to sleep in for awhile. " 4uickl got dressed and went downstairs to (u
mself something for (reakfast. " got a coffee, a ogurt parfait and a cheese ;anish. The ;anish was
terri(le. "t wasn't even flak. " ended up throwing half of it awa. 0 ogurt was excellent, though.
6nd while " was downstairs, " found out that the tech conference didn't even start until KG:: so " took
advantage of the next hour or so to go (ack to sleep for awhile until it was time to head (ack out there
again. " was also glad of the chance to recharge m electronic devices. This morning " reali3ed to m
a(solute horror that " had forgotten to do so last night.
The first speaker this morning was Todd Goings of 5arousels B 5arvings. #e had done the restoration
work on the = B = carousel in 5one "sland, which we are seeing tomorrow. "t was fascinating seeing
all the (efore and after photos of the horses in their park paint and how man laers had to (e peeled.
The stor of the "llions armoured horse was especiall fascinating. "t had (een covered in so man
laers of paint that "llions' signature had (een hidden and possi(l even sanded awa. "llions and
0angels had sore of a (rutal (reakup and no longer wanted to (e associated with each other. The = B
= carousel used to have all "llions horses, (ut now, with the exception of the armoured horse, the
have all (een replaced ( 5armels. Todd was telling us that the "llions armoured horse actuall even
replaced one of the 5armels. The even had an unusual challenge (ecause the chariots weren't on
opposite sides of the carousel as the are usuall situated. One was off ( one row. 6nd the floor used
to (e covered in QH2 of an inch of laers of paint! When the floor was stripped, he was surprised to find
markings from the metal horseshoes on the previous "llions standers. /ust look for what look like a
smile face emoticon. GS
Our second speaker was =o( 8or(urg who gave a presentation on Wurlit3er (and organs, (ut
especiall acanthus. 7ewest word to m voca(ular. 6canthus is the proper word for all the curl,
swirl fiddlededos found on everthing from (and organ facades to =aro4ue and !ococo furniture and
architecture. "n fact there's even acanthus leaves on 6merican mone. The acanthus grows in nature
in the 0editerranean, *outhern $urope and parts of 6sia and 6frica. =o( showed us several examples
of different kinds of scroll&work and places acanthus can (e found, even in manes, tails and scales of
different creatures. "'m sure m (eloved 1T5 hippocampus from 5rstal =each has an acanthus tail.
" asked if there was a (ook a(out this sort of thing and he just happened to have written one. " just
)7$W " #6; to have a cop. The pro(lem was that m mone was still upstairs in m (ackpack. #e
autographed a cop for me and trusts me to pa him later. "'ve set EF9 aside (ut haven't seen him
again since the meeting.
Our third speaker was =o( *tuhmer who programs the music for carousel (and organs. #e showed us
slides he had of ta(le for cutting the paper music rolls and explained how he made the switch to the
0";" sstem and how it works. #e is also an illustrator and film&maker and did two carousel&related
films in college. The first one consisted of dramatic, shadow footage of an "llions carousel to +Ghost
!iders in the *k, (ut it fro3eA shortl after it started. <ortunatel, the second one worked. "t was
called +!ings, and it was a(out the 7unle's carousel. "'ve alread seen this one (efore (ecause it
was one on of those tapes !ichard put together for me ears ago. The first movie was made in QKMK
and +!ings, was from 'J9.
" wish " could write more right now (ut "'m />*T TOO ;607$; T"!$;!
Thursday, September 18
th
Oka...now where did " leave off esterda?..." forgot to mention that Todd Goings noticed that the
horseshoes on the =B= carousel weren't carved all the wa around. This would have driven someone
with O5; a(solutel (onkers! /ust sain'. Todd chose to leave whatever imperfections the original
artists left.
6nd =o( 8or(urg developed his interest in (and organs when he used to (e the original =urger )ing
(ack in the 'J:. #e would do personal appearances and perform for the kids and wherever he went
there was a gu who had a Wurlit3er (and organ. When " get home "'m going to look up some old
8ouTu(e videos to see if " recogni3e him from an of the old commercials. *tuff like that has alwas
fascinated me.
6nwa, after the workshop was over " headed (ack to the room (ut " had to knock (ecause m ke
refused to work. "'m glad /anette was there (ecause " wouldn't have (een a(le to get (ack in. *he had
done her own thing toda and went to the hotel restaurant for lunch, having the chicken wings we
enjoed the other da along with the famous chowder once again. The people at the tech conference
had a (uffet with various cold cuts, salad, etc. and cookies and (rownies for dessert.
#aving trou(le with m ke was the (eginning of a downward spiral. " was alread tired from a (us
da and we had to deal with a huge crowd waiting for the (us. 6t least ever(od knew each other (ut
it was still draining making sure we didn't get separated in the crowd.
" reall started losing spoons when " sat down on the (us. <irst we had to move (ack a couple seats
(ecause the seats near the front are for people with motion sickness.
Then when " sat down in the next seat the (ack of m seat shot (ack with a huge (ang! " <>5)"7G
#6T$ *>;;$7 -O>; 7O"*$*!!!!
6nd to add insult to injur, " was sitting !"G#T 7$%T to the speaker and the started plaing loud
music. "t wasn't (ad music. 7ice A:'s =ig =and. =ut it was -O>; and >7W67T$; and " was hovering
dangerousl close to a meltdown so " had to change seats again! This meant we couldn't sit together
anmore.
= then " was free3ing cold and exhausted. "'m glad the stopped plaing that awful music (ecause it
would have (een too loud to (lock out on m 01. plaer. " tried to choose m own music, (ut despite
the fact that " have over 2::: songs, " was in a +don't&want&this&don't&want&that, mood. <inall " settled
on ;onn Osmond and when Are You onesome Ton!"ht plaed " allowed mself to 4uietl start
cring. " wasn't sad or depressed or anthing. *ometimes m ees just need to take a piss!
6s we neared our destination, " had to chuckle when the (us passed a giant corn co(. "t reminded me
of H!per"#le and a Hal$.
We were glad when the journe was over and we sat down for supper at the restaurant. *alad was
alread on the ta(le and " immediatel started to attack mine. <ace it, ( then " was a(solutel
STAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR'IN(!!! <ive more minutes on the (us and " would have (een
a(out to chew m arm off!!
We enjoed a good feastC chicken, potatoes, stuffing with shrimp and assorted veggies. " ate all m
s4uash (ut let /anette have most of m carrots. = then " was prett much full. =esides "'m not overl
fond of carrots. $speciall raw ones. "'d (een prett much +carrotted to death, all m life.
;essert was on its wa (ut we couldn't wait an longer. "t was off to the Greenport carousel, a
#erschell&*pillman inside an ama3ing glass structure. "t reminded me of a cross (etween the Guelph
carousel and the one at the 6llan #erschell museum. There were a few aluminum replacement horses
and on the inside row there were a few 6rmitage&#erschell track machine horses that were modified to
/umpers.
" took lots of pictures.
There was a wonderful displa of kids' drawings. " took pictures of those too. "'d like to em(roider
some of these on m 4uilt.
*oon it was time to film the carousel in motion with no riders. The pla4ue presentation seemed to go
on forever and we were feeling impatient.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI4MiWn.jjR3k
When the first group of riders got on (oard there was a certain amount of anxiet (ecause we couldn't
find the lineup.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI*4$910t5DR
Trojan horses are m favorites (ut at this point the pavilion was so crowded it didn't matter which
horses we rode when the time came. When it finall was our turn " took a chocolate&(rown horse with
a (right ellow mane and tail and +)";$Otic, (utterflies on its (lanket. /anette chose a small, pale&
gra horse on the inside row. " filmed as we rode and came down with a major case of the sillies the
moment " made a goof face at m own camera. +!emem(er the goose!, " said to /anette, +#O7)!,
6nd prett soon "'d reached the point where " was laughing so hard it was difficult to stop. " was
laughing so hard m ri(s hurt.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIM#oKNW7&Dc"
When it was time to get (ack on the (us " was glad to (e feeling so much (etter than " was on the wa
here. ;uring the journe home " listened to $li3a ;oolittle, the )anad* soundtrack and " started to
listen to Gene *immons (ut we were alread home.
A#most 2:00pm
"'m worried a(out /anette. " just got off the 1rospect 1ark carousel and " can't find her anwhere! *he
was near the carousel last time " saw her and now " don't know where she is. *he decided to sit this
one out. *he's (een 4uite upset since her meltdown at the end of the group photo shoot.
"t's a good thing we took all our gear we'd need for the da when we left our room (ecause
immediatel after (reakfast it was time to get on the (us.
"t was a long (us ride to /ane's carousel. When we got there there was the usual picture taking and
video shoots. " had a total of three rides. The first two times " rode the same (lack horse with a wild,
flowing mane and silver and gold +want&a&tins, on its (ridle. The third time " rode a reddish&(rown one
with a partial roach mane. This carousel has a rule that people over FF9 pounds must ride either the
chariot or stationar horses. Oh well, "'d rather ride a horse that doesn't go up and down than not (e
allowed to ride an horse at all.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIfN0G3-1O(58
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vItNd/2vKpN2
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vITLJhN2.9n1g
Then it was time for lunch. We were all herded into a (uilding with several long ta(les and ricket
white plastic folding chairs. "t was at that point /anette started losing spoons so to speak. $ach ta(le
had to take turns lining up and there were sandwiches and chocolate rum (alls (ut ( the time we
were in line all the lemonade was gone. 6ll that was left to drink were small (ottles of water. Oh well,
less likel to spill.
6fter lunch we lined up to use the washroom. The lineup was so long the let some of us, mself
included, use the mens' room.
Then it was (ack to the steps in front of the carousel for our group picture. 1oor /anette lost it and had
a major meltdown. " tried m (est to comfort her. *he was so em(arrassed. " know how she feels. This
sort of thing has happened to me a num(er of times (efore including two ears ago at the general
meeting in 0ichigan and the ear (efore that at 1T5 'M in =urlington, 5olorado. "'ll spare ou the gor
details.
When we left /ane's carousel, we soon arrived at 1rospect 1ark. /anette needed some 4uiet time
alone while " took as man pictures as possi(le for the carousel and got in line for m ride. There was
enough time for everone to have just one ride. " ended up on a small, gra middle&row stander. "t was
a fast ride. " didn't take an video on (oard (ecause this was fast enough that " needed (oth hands to
hold on.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIiDe-L$$L6t:
When " got off the carousel " was worried (ecause " could not find /anette anwhere. " did, however,
find a place to (u snacks. " knew we were (oth in desperate need of chocolate so " (ought us each
two *nickers (ars. " also craved iced tea so " (ought mself a (ottle of peach *napple.
" asked around to find out if anone knew where /anette was and was happ and relieved to know she
was enjoing a ride on the carousel. /anette got to ride the lion. *he also (ought us some Oreos and
chips to enjo later and shin, colourful pinwheels! " was glad to know she was feeling much (etter.
JG.: pm. 7ow it's (een m turn to feel crapp. ;ear God, 8ou owe me one! " TO-; 8ou " didn't want to
get sick on this trip! 6ctuall, " started getting this rotten egg taste in m mouth at around noon. "'ve
(asicall felt oka other than that until the journe home. !iding in the (ack of the (us onl
exacer(ated m condition as we crawled and jerked along through rush&hour traffic and " ended up
near the front of the (us where this time " started to cr like a (a(. "'d asked /anette if " was starting
to look kind of green. 8es, " was. 6* " cried and clutched a plastic (ag, /im held m hand and talked to
me and did his (est to keep me calm and get m mind off things.
6t least we had a nice time at the = B = carousel at 5one "sland. /anette actuall got to go for TWO
rides. We were separated ( a long line&up, so " was surprised when " got on the carousel and ended
up right (ehind her. *he was in the chariot and " was on a small, middle&row stander. 6gain, the had
the rule not allowing anone 0 *i3e on the jumping horses. " don't mind as long as " can ride 678
horse whether it goes up and down or not. 6s it was, " had a steadier hand filming anwa and got
some excellent footage of the (and organ and waved at m own reflection in the huge mirrors
surrounding the centre pole. " called out to /anette (ut she couldn't hear me. 6t least ou can see the
(ack of her head on video. "t was a (eautiful carousel and " got plent of pictures. 6fter m ride " sad
down and had some 4uiet time, writing in m (ook, listening while the did another pla4ue
presentation. " (ought a colourful fridge magnet from the gift ta(le.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIRD5J3$)D*4A
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIWJrj%l!4N3>
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIi;9<3.;pt8o
When it was time to leave, /anette (ought herself a <amous 7athan's hotdog and let me have a (ite. "
wasn't hungr so there's no wa " could have eaten a whole one, (ut these reall are the =$*T
hotdogs in the world! " can see how the champion world record holder could (u33 MK of them down in
Q: minutes like a wood&chipper!
=ut on the (us going (ack to the hotel " just felt 4ueasier and 4ueasier. The let me off the (us first
and " high&tailed it to the ladies' room where " had a gust of the runs that would give 7iagara <alls a
run for its mone! " felt even sicker (ecause the (athroom reeked of cloing perfume cleaning
products.
/anette walked with me (ack to the room and the hallwa was full of dreadful cleaning product smells.
One thing " knew for sure is tonight " don't want 678 supper. " just want to get to =$;!!!
=ut " had to phone the front desk and ask for gar(age (ags. We'd forgotten to take the +;o 7ot
;istur(, sign off our door this morning and (oth waste (askets were chock&a&(lock. " needed them to
(e empt in case " have to hurl. -ast time " was sick like this " sat on the toilet, hugging the gar(age
can (ecause " was spewing from (oth ends at once!
That was the da after m visit with *haron last month. " wonder if "'ve developed an allerg to (eets.
When " was out with *haron and her folks " had pickled (eets at Tedd's and last night " had that !ed
Delvet cupcake. !$6- !ed Delvet cake is made with =$$T*, not red food colouring. " used to love
(eets (ut the seem to have turned against me! GP
6t least " haven't had to throw up et and "'m not as nauseous as " was (ut ever now and then m
stomach will growl violentl causing me to have to catapult mself to the loo!
$r!day, September 1%
th
1:00 am. W#8 ;O 8O> #6T$ 0$ *O 0>5# GO;??!! W#6T #6D$ " ;O7$ TO ;$*$!D$
T#"*???!!!!
" haven't had an sleep et tonight (ecause ever time " start to drift off " have to go. "t doesn't help
either that /anette's (een snoring again. /anette's 7$D$! snored (efore in her life and now $D$!8
night on this trip she's snored up a storm. " know she can't help it. " know she doesn't do it on purpose
(ecause she wouldn't if she had a 5#O"5$! " W"*# " had m #$6;1#O7$*. =ut it's no use. 0
(od is a <>5)"7G *#"T 5-OW7 56!!! " swear "'ve spewed enough li4uid poo for at least a do3en
people. "f " were to collect it in an oil drum instead of flushing it awa " swear " would have filled at
least *"% O"- ;!>0* so far!!! "'m scared of running out of toilet paper (efore the night is through. 0
ass hurts like hell. Tums haven't (een an help so far. " don't know how "'m going to make it through
the da if "'m still like this tomorrow. Tomorrow we have <O>! carousels on our schedule. " wouldn't
have (een a(le to eat supper (ut "'m glad /anette (rought me a couple dinner roles with some (utter.
*he even managed to sneak out a knife. " pro(a(l won't have an (reakfast.
&e/H!g"/Horsed T0!'e !n One &ay
$r!day, September1%th
" am sitting in front of the <lushing 0eadows carousel having just finished stuffing m face with
popcorn whilst listening to Gene *immons' solo al(um on m 01. plaer. This is going to (e the
weirdest carousel video ever when " pla it (ack. While " filmed /anette riding the carousel " was
singing along with Mr+ Ma,e-Bel.e/e.
A#most %:00 pm
*crew dessert. *crew the auction and the presentation. *crew even tring to finish supper! We are
$%#6>*T$;! Too much drama toda.
-ast night " hardl got an sleep (ecause ever time " started to drift off " had to jump up and run to the
(athroom. When " finall did get to sleep " had nightmares. " had this dream that " was still in high
school (ut " was living in #awaii and " was in this glee clu(&tpe thing where we were competing in
something like the )iwanis <estival and groups had to dance on these dangerousl high platforms
around this stadium. 6nwa, " was leaving to go home and " hailed this taxi, (ut inside there was a
mother with a screaming infant. The driver was insisting " get in (ut " argued and said there was no
wa " was sitting with THAT!!!
+/ust ignore it!, he persisted, +8ou don't want to (e walking alone in this neigh(ourhood this time of
night.,
+7O!! <O!G$T "T! " 567'T *T67; 5!8"7G =6="$*!, " argued.
+<ine! Go get raped!, he snapped and drove off in a huff.
" don't know how " got home. "t was like an edit and " dreamed it was the next da and it was all over
townC 7ewspaper headlines said +$vil =a( #ater !efuses Taxi, and graffiti was everwhereC
+06!G6!$T "* 67 $D"- =6=8 #6T$!,, +06!G6!$T $6T* =6="$*,, +GO; #6T$* $D"- =6=8
#6T$!*,, etc. etc. etc. 6nd " still had to perform on stage with m song and dance group and " was
terrified that the were going to throw things and (oo me off the stage, or worse, push me off the
edge.
/anette had an even worse dream. *he had come (ack from this trip and she was with 0ark and said
something to him a(out his ina(ilit to find a jo(. #e snapped at her +"t's alwas a(out perfection with
ou!, /anette found herself wandering through the countrside feeling extremel suicidal.
=oth of us were having the same thought. "f God doesn't have an plans on improving our lives it
would sure (e a corker if the plane crashed and we were killed on the wa home.
" awoke (efore wake&up call and called the front desk asking to postpone our wake&up call for another
hour (ut it still rang at MG:: anwa. = then there was no use going (ack to sleep.
We got dressed, gathered our stuff and went downstairs for (reakfast. " was still sick so " was careful
what " ate. " had a small pastr, a (agel and a (it of fruit. " didn't eat all m fruit. =efore we got on the
(us, /im, our (us captain, (rought me a small (ottle of 1epto&=ismal. " took a dose immediatel.
The first carousel we arrived at was 7unle's. The first thing " saw was m (eloved !ose #orse that
"'m pictured riding on m (usiness card. " wanted to ride that one again so (adl. The picture on m
card is from when " was there just over F: ears ago. " learned the hard wa 7$D$! to call di(s. "t just
creates (ad karma. When it was m turn to ride the carousel, someone else took that horse and "
couldn't persuade her to change her mind. Who can (lame her reall. "t was a stupid thing for me to tr
to do. *tupid and selfish and " pro(a(l deserved what was coming to me!
" chose a (ig, charcoal gra horse.
6t the end of m ride the horse was so high off the ground that " ended up falling and landing flat on
m (ack. " pro(a(l would have hurt mself a lot worse if " hadn't (een wearing m (ackpack to
cushion m fall. $verthing seemed to happen in slow motion. 0 hat went fling. 0 sunglasses went
fling. 6nd as " hit the ground " roared out +<>5)!!!!,
The next few minutes were a (lur of people (u33ing around in m personal space asking me if " was
oka.
" got (ack in line onl to have /err #orowit3 elling at me that if " alread had one ride " shouldn't (e
standing in line in order to let people who hadn't ridden et have a turn. Uh0 hell#? The lineup ahead
of us was long enough that anone else who hasn't ridden et had to (e wa ahead of us!
6nother ride or two and it was m turn again. This time " chose a small, (rown stander in the middle
row (ut " didn't enjo m ride ver much. " was in kind of a sullen mood.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI)*r.2)tdwNo
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIAD4nRwsLT&0
One cool thing a(out the 7unle's carousel though. The first song the (and organ plaed was the
walt3 that =ill /oel composed especiall for this carousel. " have the 5; with the or original
composition on piano so " recogni3ed it right awa.
Our next destination was the #empstead -ake carousel, a .&row "llions machine. One of the first
things " did when " got there was (u several souvenirs including a couple patches, some stickers, a
small colouring (ook and a mouse pad. "t means " can finall retire that gru((, stick (lue thing " have
at home. 7o dou(t it's seen (etter das.
" enjoed m first ride on the carousel and saw /anette sitting at the ta(le. " knew it was close to 1ill
Time and she was looking kind of fra33led so " let her sit while " fetched (oth our lunches from the area
set up ( the (lue (us. $verone else ate outside (ut we couldn't face the crowds and the (roiling hot
sun.
While we were finishing up our lunch, !ichard had a ride on the carousel and he had the whole ride to
himself.
We had two more rides after lunch. This time /anette was 4uite a distance in front of me sitting in the
chariot.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIKw&Gv.R&*2
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI!McL7hF!:g
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI"r=)dA<4-5A
On our last ride we finall had two horses next to each other so " was glad some(od could take our
picture together.
>nfortunatel, when " tried to get off, shit had to start happening again! The two (o3os who tried to
help me did more harm than good. "f "'m falling, it's no use to tr to stop me from falling. "'m a dead
weight. "'ll onl drag ou down with me! Two normal&si3ed gus tring to stop me is like tring to stop a
(owling (all with a spider's we(! The had me ( each arm and nearl pulled them out of their sockets
in the process! " have a nast (ruise from where the one on the right s4uee3ed me. =oth of them were
tring to pull me up and " ended up screaming at me to (ack off and let me do it mself as " manage to
crawl to m knees and gra( the horse's hind leg to pull mself up. " was reall cring this time! TW"5$
in one da???? "s this going to happen at $D$!8 carousel " visit from now on??
/im took me (ack to the (us and there were three gus plaing (all, (ouncing it against the side of the
(us!! G!!!!!!! " did *O 7OT 7$$; T#6T!!!! /im talked to them and got them to stop (ut when he
went to use the (athroom at the (ack of the (us the started 6G6"7!! This time the (all hit the side of
the (us once (ut (ounced (ack so fast and so far that the had to chase after it and were still doing so
when everone started getting (ack on the (us.
>nfortunatel, the (ullhorn speaker was still turned on and /ackie accidentall (umped it and got
feed(ack. The loud noise made me scream and " started cring again.
/im and /ackie decided to sta with me for the rest of the da to make sure " got on and off m horses
safel at the remaining locations.
6t <orest 1ark " rode two different (ut similar outside&row standers.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI5Nvt#sgwOj2
6t <lushing 0eadows " rode a small, gra third row stander. *ad a(out the lous paint jo(. This horse
would look a(solutel stunning if restored properl. " admired the flat sections of wind(lown mane
swept across the side of its head, ideall made to (e finished with gold leaf.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI0(Tt7a#(T*8
The pro(lem with the standers on this carousel, unfortunatel, is that there is nowhere to put our feet.
7o stirrups or steps of an kind. 0 hips hurt as " let m feet dangle. " just wanted to slide out of m
saddle like a sack of potatoes and couldn't wait for the ride to (e over as " (uried m face against the
(ack of the horses head. This would (e m last ride of the da for sure. " was all +carouselled&out, (
now!
/anette had a good time plaing some of the games and won a few cute little tos. " filmed as she
plaed the water&pistol game and won herself a (right pink elephant. *he also plaed the ring toss and
won two prett, sparkl seahorsesC a tur4uoise one for herself and a purple one for me.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIM2p6!c"ua12
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIM3:;eoTrc!>
" was getting prett hungr ( then so " (ought mself a (ox of popcorn and /anette had her turn riding
the carousel. = then a famil with several small children including a new(orn were luring around the
carousel so " put on m 01. plaer, listening to Gene *immons as " ate m popcorn and watched the
carousel which was where " was when " started writing earlier. This is going to (e weird to watch later
(ecause " was singing along with what " was listening to while " was filming.
*oon it was time to get (ack on the (us. The journe (ack to the hotel seemed to take forever. =ack at
the hotel m ke refused to work so " turned (ack to go to the desk and ran into one of the staff
mem(ers in the hall. #e got m ke working for me (ut /anette and " were getting discom(o(ulated
with the wa he was mum(ling and (a((ling! That's the pro(lem with this place. 7othing is ever user&
friendl and most of the staff don't speak much $nglish so the tend to talk ver fast and mum(le and
(a((le.
*oon we were on our wa (ack downstairs for supper. "t must have (een almost an hour (etween the
time we had our salad until the main course was finall served. We were (oth rather fractious and
even making music with the edges of our water glasses did little to alleviate our hunger and (oredom.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI:o$.%pe$R8g
When m chicken and pasta were finall served " was sick of waiting for everone else to (e served
and started eating shortl after. " could care less what anone thought at that point. " finished all m
chicken (ut still had half m pasta left. " was alread feeling full so " let /anette have it. #er steak
*T"-- hadn't come. *o " excused mself from the ta(le and said goodnight to everone and high&tailed
it (ack to our room where " plugged m electronics into their chargers and picked up the phone to
arrange for our wake&up call and ask for more toilet paper.
We seem to notice that everone has such impecca(le timing! 1eople either phone or come to the
door when one of us is in the (athroom or one of us isn't decent. /anette was fum(ling with her
nightgown when the came to deliver our toilet paper.
T"e Ro(an'e *!de o) t"e Bagel
Saturday, September 20
th
This time " was hungr for a more su(stantial (reakfast than " had esterda. Our alarm went off at six
and soon we were down in the (reakfast room. $ven after m eggs, (acon and sausage, " was still
hungr so " had half a (agel. "t was the top half that has all the salu(rious injittiments. +"'ve got the
+romance side, of the (agel., " joked to /anette. 5arousel&related humour, go figure. To the uninitiated,
the +romance&side, on a carousel horse is the fancier, more ela(oratel&decorated side that faces the
pu(lic. On =ritish gallopers that go clockwise, it's on the left.
*oon it was time to get on the (us and go to 5entral 1ark. The walk from the (us to the carousel
wasn't as horrific as the speaker at last night's dinner made it sound. We do *O 7OT appreciate this
kind of humour when we are feeling tired and crank.
"t's a good thing " let /anette finish m pasta last night. *he couldn't eat most of her steak (ecause it
was (lood rare!! That's wh " tend to avoid red meat at these functions. The prime ri( at the QKK.
convention in =inghamton was the worstC (lood rare and mostl fat. " even feel 4ueas just thinking
a(out it. 0eat with fat around the edges was the major source of most screaming matches over food
when " was a kid! "t was 6-W68* served whenever we had to visit compan for dinner.
The first thing we did at 5entral 1ark was line up for the ladies' room. 6 musician with a guitar kept us
entertained with =eatles songs while we waited in line. #e had a long, white (eard, wore a hooded
(lack ro(e and was (arefoot. " tossed a EQ: int his guitar case.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vITQ%N=eQ-=#8
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIvuD!vD%=j(6
There was a lad who did face&painting and glitter tattoos. /anette got a lad(ird done in pink, green
and ellow with (lue jewels on its antennae. " got a unicorn on m ankle in pink, purple and tur4uoise
with a green ee.
The cost EJ each. /anette ttreated us to this one. The're supposed to last . to J das. Which will
disappear first? This glitter tattoo or the painful (ruise on m right arm from where that clums oaf dug
his meat&hooks into me tring to stop me from falling esterda at #empstead -ake?
We soon made our wa to the carousel. " got in line right awa. 6fter esterda's experiences, " was
kind of worried (ut " managed to find a sweet little ginger&(read (rown horse on the inside row who
even though he went up and down, gave me a nice, gentle ride and stopped close to the ground so "
could actuall get off without falling. /im wasn't there to help me at the moment so " felt a little scared
as m sweat palms slid down the pole (ut " was happ and relieved when " planted m foot firml on
the floor. *o happ and relieved, in fact, that " threw m arms around the horse's neck and gave him a
great (ig hug and a kiss! +Thanks for not letting me fall!, " said. " wonder how man other people,
especiall adults, talk to carousel horses. "t's pro(a(l something mostl kids do.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIe)5gKNRox<c
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI/ef*%!FModo
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI-=16Dc$<e(2BfeatureIoutu.(e
" took pictures on the wa out of the carousel (uilding and /anette had her ride. " filmed as she rode.
6s her ride slowed down, the premises started (ecoming sprogulated. The =a( 1arade was
everwhere on our wa (ack to the (us. Of course a toddler had to run awa from her grandfather and
go tearing up this rock slope. We )7$W t, we just )7$W it was going to happen! *he fell and started
screaming. We ran awa from the source of the noise. TO;;-$!* 7$$; TO =$ O7 6 <>5)"7G
1EASH!!! (RRRRRR!!! We were (oth feeling fra33led and " was concerned a(out /anette (ecause t
was close to 1ill Time. We heard another scream. +*#>T >1!, " roared angril. "t shot out of me like a
snee3e. " fum(led with m 01. plaer and put m ear&(uds in, flipping on Gene *immons again from
where " left off previousl.
We knew that as soon as we got (ack on the (us we'd want our *nickers (ars. "n the meantime " was
feeling so hungr " couldn't resist ordering a hot pret3el. "t was so hot, however, " had to ask for more
napkins. " wasn't done with the mustard et! " told the vendor he'd make a profit selling OD$7 0"T* to
his customers!
/anette wished she could cross the street to (u more souvenirs (ut " was concerned that our (uses
would (e here an second and we had to (e on them 4uickl as it was technicall a +no idling, 3one.
Toda "'ve taken lots of pictures of horse&drawn (uggies and there were also several ponies in the
park. "'ve also taken pictures of so much interesting architecture. "'m seeing acanthuses everwhere! "
want to em(roider a 4uilt s4uare andHor T&shirt that sasG
Acanthus: the Proper Name for
all those Curly Swirly Fiddledoos
Found Everywhere from Band
Oran Facades to Baro!ue
Architecture"#
" also want to em(roider s4uares with ;ent3el lions that face each other with (anners that sa
+1atience, and +<ortitude, in reference to the lions at the li(rar.
$ven though " thought " was full from m pret3el, we ate our *nickers (ars on the (us. "'d (een
concerned a(out /anette (ecause " knew it was around pill time.
*oon we were at !e 1laland. 6s we entered the park, the first thing we saw was the staff personnel
dealing with several (ags of stuffed tos. These included smaller 5O!7 5O=*!! We asked if we could
(u them and the gave them to us for free!!! G; We saw larger ones at <lushing 0eadows esterda.
Of course nowadas " can never think of corn anmore without thinking of H!per"#le-and-a-Hal$.
When we finished eating " finall had a chance to take pictures of our dolls on location. This was the
first time since the ;inger house we'd (een a(le to photograph them anwhere (ecause everwhere's
(een such a rush. !e 1laland seems smaller than " remem(er it from F: ears ago. "t's ver well&
planned. 6ll the rides and attractions seem to form a large rectangle and the carousel and !acing
;er( are right across fro each other. " think this carousel is m favorite. *o much silver, gold, jewels
and other resplendent details! This time " was allowed to wander around n the platform so " could get
closer and take even more interesting pictures!

" made m wa to the !acing ;er( and took as man pictures as possi(le of those horses too!
*oon it was time to ride the carousel. " chose a gentle (rown outside&row stander with a raised head.
/im rode on the horse next to me to make sure " wouldn't fall again. This carousel goes prett fast and
everone has to wear a seat&(elt. "'m glad mine fit and still had a(out an inch or two to spare. /im's
horse next to mine had a lolling tongue and " took a picture of them sticking their tongues out at each
other. " also got him to take a picture where it looks like the horse is licking me, like the one at Three
!ivers.
This could (e a regular tradition whenever possi(le. /im was explaining to me that this is how 5armel
dealt with customers he didn't like ver much. "llions made anatomicall correct stallions and 5armel
made the horses with lolling tongues. /anette was on the next ride after me and she got a (eautiful
white armoured horse. " shot footage and took a few pictures of her on her horse.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIO/ag.&JNK)o
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vID!j$w5-(kL:
" made m wa over to the !acing ;er(. 6fter all the (ad luck " had esterda, " wasn't taking
chances riding this one. " was still feeling prett (ruised and shaken so " just stuck to filming this one
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI9!T.8&k9o*2
" was surprised that /anette had actuall (een on this one. This time she's (raver than " was. " used to
love this ride (ut (ecause of all the drama on this trip " alread feel like "'ve (een through a meat
grinder.
7ow we're (oth (ack in our room having a much&needed rest (efore the (an4uet.
11:40 pm
"t's (een a good evening, even though we were feeling a little scratch on our wa (ack to the hotel.
>gh! "t's hard to concentrate with all that acket&ack going on next door.
This trip has had its share of unwanted drama P<ace it, is there 678 OT#$! )"7;????S (ut all in all
it's (een a fun and exciting time and we have seen some prett ama3ing things along the wa. There
was a huge lineup outside the 6pple *tore for the new i1hone M. There was a truck on the highwa for
a compan called Send .n the Cl#%n2. "t reminded me of ;oo ;oo and <arcoC clowns, performers
and amusement ride rentals. 6 dunk tank was (eing towed (ehind the truck. 6t at least two or three of
the parks we visited there were signs advertising clown shows on weekends and holidas.
GRRRRR! GO TO SLEEP ALREADY STUPID NEIGHBURS! YACK-YACK-YACK-YACK!! 6nd people
used to complain that I talk too loud!!!
When we arrived at the hotel /anette was talking a(out feeling like she just wanted to keep to herself
and do her own thing for dinner (ecause these past two nights were so difficult for her. Thursda night
she had to join everone ( herself (ecause " was too sick to go down to the room for supper. 6nd last
night we ad to wait so long after kind of a suck da that we felt like we wanted to throw ourselves on
the floor and have a tantrum like two&ear&olds if we didn't get fed soon!
The first thing we saw when we got off the (us was at least one or two (a( strollers catting around (
the elevators /o, oh (liss, just what we need. Wh the fuck do people travel with (a(ies anwa?
The don't understand what's going on. 6ll the do is scream and poop! !epulsive little shit distur(ers.
8eah, eah, " know. " was a repulsive little shit distur(er mself once upon a time. 7ow, 9: ears later.
"'m a repulsive ="G shit distur(er, so there! 786666!!
We (oth felt irrita(le and depressed when we arrived at our room. /anette actuall managed to fall
asleep and was snoring awa like a (u33&saw while " wrote in m journal.
When she woke up she felt like going down to !ounda(out <aire. We'd (oth missed the previous two
nights (ecause we'd (oth (een feeling so tired and crank at the end of these past two das. 6nd we
were (oth worried a(out them (eing so horrendousl slow with our food as the'd (een last night and
the night (efore which " had to miss. /anette thought she'd onl (e gone a short time and then come
(ack upstairs so we de(ated on having me call her cell phone if she was upstairs and her dinner was
finall read.
While /anette was downstairs at !ounda(out <aire " enjoed a nice, hot (ath. The trick to having the
(ath water hot enough is having the shower run first, which is what " did (ecause m hair needed a
wash.
6fter m (ath " felt much (etter so " put on m purple top and m ancient crinoline and ironed m
(eloved carousel skirt. " em(roidered the horses on that skirt (ack in QKK.! Over the ears "'ve worn it
to several conventions.
" wore m star necklaces and the carousel pin *haron gave me when she visited. " also wore the
head(and "'d (ought at Tos ! >s with the (lack and red roses.
6s " headed toward !ounda(out <air, there was !apid T. !a((it! "t felt like old times to see !ichard in
his ra((it suit! We gave each other a hug and he said to sa hello to -ouella *nuggle(unn. That's m
+fursona,, even though it's (een ears since " did the ra((it suit thing.
The poor creature has (een hiding in a (ag in m closet for ears! " think the last time she was out
was when =utthead wanted furr sex. "'ll spare ou the gor details. "'m not even sure if m ra((it suit
even fits me anmore! "'m scared to tr it on. 6t least " have all her old stories on 8ouTu(e and her
comic strip series in the first two ears of 3lanet N.l,nar$. 0 furr das are over, at least for the time
(eing. -ouella *nuggle(unn and !apid T. !a((it used to have such a good time together marching in
the $aster 1arade and riding the 5entral 1ark 5arousel. -ouella also used to had out tickets to the
free puppet show for the Good 7ews *tor #ouse at various fairs for a season. >nfortunatel, smart&
asses would kick her in the (utt at the Orono <air and at the -indsa <air she was dragging herself
around sick with a fever and no ice pack to go inside the head of m costume. -ouella was also in at
least one or two +0arch for /esus, parades and performed at m former (oss' grandson's (irthda
part (efore =utthead came into m life. The kids at that part literall stuffed m face with chee3ies.
The crammed so man into the mouth of m ra((it suit so 4uickl " nearl suffocated! The thought it
was hilarious to feed me as "'d made the mistake of letting them do so. "t used to (e possi(le to shove
food through the mouth of m ra((it head. "t was possi(le to shove other things in there as well (ut we
won't go there! Thanks a lot =utthead.
=utthead is what " call m ex. " don't use his real name in case he Googles m stuff and gets me
deleted. The less said a(out =utthead, the (etter.
6nwa... There " was at !ounda(out <air and (efore /anette and " saw each other we could (oth
hear one another oohing, ahhing and exclaiming over everthing! There were so man wonderful
things for sale. " took pictures of all the carousel horses on displa. There was a lovel little (rwon and
white ;are for EQ2:: and just the head of a 1arker for EQ:::. " called out to /anette and pretended to
make him singC I AIN&T (OT NOBO4Y!
6t that point " started getting the sillies and alughing again. "t's a good thing " waited until the last night
of the convention or else " pro(a(l would have spent all m mone too soon. While " was there "
(ought several colouring (ooks! 6nd stickers! 8ou can't have too man stickers! $ven if "'ve had them
all (efore " can alwas use them again! " like to decorate m packages when " mail stuff to people. 6nd
" sometimes use stickers to decorate some of the carousel horses " draw. 6nd fa(ric! " was tempted to
(u two ards of each (ut " just stuck with one ard (ecause m mone was running low. " chose the
same fa(ric in three different coloursC (lue, green and ellow. This stuff is going to (e awesome for doll
dresses and 4uilts. " also (ought a package of these reall cool envelopes with acanthus along the
(ack and a small carousel with a single ostrich on the front.
=ut the thing " liked (est was the selection of -u6nne's carousel patches! There were so man to
choose from " wanted them 6--!!! +#ow much do ou want for the whole (in?, " half&joked. " ended up
spending nearl a hundred dollars on them all. " must have more than a do3en including a ra((it, a
lion, a donke, a kangaroo, an elephant and several assorted horses, of course.
" alwas like to have patches hand (ecause m favorite winter coat is alwas ripping. "'ve had it for
over F: ears! "n fact " (ought it wa (ack n QKKQ, a(out a week or two (efore m <"!*T carousel
convention. That coat has (een like an old friend to me. " wore it the first time /anette and " met
)";$O and " wore it when " was an extra in +;etroit !ock 5it. "t was with me on our penultimate
7iagara trip (ack in 6pril of F:QF. "t's lasted me over F: ears and " intend for it to last another F:
ears even though ( then it would pro(a(l (e so covered in patches that we pro(a(l won't see
much of the original coat anmore. When the collar fraed " covered it over with teal satin 5hristmas
ri((on. "'ve got patches from everwhere. =ut m favorite will alwas (e the first one. When m mother
passed awa " found an em(roidered (utterfl she'd cut and saved from an old pair of jeans "'d
em(ellished when " was a teenager. 0 jacket had its first noticea(le rip on the (ack so " used ellow
em(roider thread and a (uttonhole stitch to cover it with the (utterfl. 7ow m jacket is covered with
assorted patches, mostl either carousel, )"** or 7iagara&themed.
/anette (ought several cards and other cute things and ( the time we were (oth finished at
!ounda(out <aire, we were (oth feeling much (etter. /anette went (ack to our room for awhile while "
sociali3ed with everone.
"n the dining room " saved us two seats. There was a pen and pieces of (right pink paper. " wrote out
two ela(orate place cards with fanc scroll&work in the corners and decorated hers with a little lad(ug
and a small carousel horse on mine.
$verone was (u33ing a(ut the 4uilt "'d donated to the auction.
*oon, the first course, 5o(( salad was served. $arlier that evening we'd de(ated a(out having me call
her cell phone to let her know when dinner was served (ut " didn't need to do that after all. /ust as well
(ecause everone else's phones were in their rooms charging except for one " wouldn't have known
how to use anwa. " alread knew (oth of us had ordered the salmon tonight so " took (oth our
orders and the salad was alread on the ta(le when /anette came (ack down wearing the prett
sparkling pink top she'd originall (ought to wear on her (irthda. We enjoed a good meal, complete
with roast potato wedges, carrots and (roccoli. " love (roccoli! 0 hus(and hates it. When he even
hears a(out it he just goes +$$WWW!!!,
"'d told /anette that when she'd first gone downstairs " was reall, reall praing for her. " know how
desperatel unhapp she's (een latel and when she's hurting, "'m hurting.
We enjoed a good meal and wonderful chocolate cake. " still had m drink tickets so " had two
glasses of rose this evening. The lad next to me didn't want her chocolate cake so we shared it
(etween us.
While we had (een waiting for dessert, the raffle started. 6t this point there was a ta(le full of pri3es
for everone who won to choose from. " hadn't won anthing from the (us raffles all week, however "
won the (id, EF: for a colourful carousel tote (ag. 6ll of a sudden /anette won several pri3es in a row
so the first thing she selected was a green carousel tin. The same ones were availa(le in (lue and
red! )";$OT"5! When she won again she selected a small carousel ornament and then she won
again and let me pick out something for mself so " selected the (lue tin. =oth have music (oxes (uilt
into their lids. " didn't even reali3e it was a 5hristmas tin until " wound it up and recogni3ed +6wa in a
0anger,.
#er num(er was drawn again so she selected one of the two +Gas *ign, horses which "'d made and
she'd designed. 6t least it's still +in the famil,. We thought it was a corker that one of the pri3es that "'d
made was coming (ack to 5anada with us! The other horse was won ( 6ngie's 2&ear&old ounger
sister.
When the auction started, /anette decided to retire (ack to the room. " staed for awhile (ecause "
wanted to see m 4uilt (eing auctioned to see what it would fetch.
The first thing the did was give !ol *ummit a haircut. The had people contri(ute EF: a snip . The
were joking that he'd let himself go and now he looked like a 5alifornia hippie. 1ersonall, " kind of like
the 5alifornia hippie look. While people took turns snipping at !ol's hair, cra3 music would pla,
usuall the theme from +/aws, or +The *tripper.,
0 item was a(out the A
th
or 9
th
to go up for (id.
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI04%K7Dag<02BfeatureIoutu.(e
The winner was -inda =er4uist who (id E.9:. $verone said it was worth at least a thousand (ut (
this time, no(od's got much mone left to spend. #oll and /im took several pictures of -inda and "
holding up the 4uilt together.
/im wants to commission me to do a 4uilt of the =erkshire carousel horses. =erkshire =elle alread
appears on the last one " created.
=ack in the room, /anette and " looked at some of our treasures. The 5asino 1ier colouring (ook is m
favorite. "t's got several clown pictures. " want to make a clown 4uilt for ;oo ;oo one of these das!
0 least favorite is the !ichland 1ark carousel colouring (ook. #ello? "f ou're going to pu(lish a
colouring (ook, at -$6*T hire someone who knows how to ;!6W!! " could draw (etter horses with
m <OOT!!!!!.....
"ts onl redeeming 4ualit is the picture of the (and organ and even that's kind of mess&looking.
6 (and organ 4uilt is another project " want to make someda.
1lus a rounding&(oard colouring (ook with assorted acanthus frames that have (lank space to draw
our own pictures.
" was admiring a rounding (oard on the #empstead -ake carousel with three stli3ed clowns that
reminded me of )";$O. *igh! " still think a(out them after all these ears. " hope that wherever the
are, whatever the're doing now, the're happ with their lives. $speciall =udd. #ow could anone
7OT (e happ living in #6W6""!! >nless ou're me in that awful nightmare " had the other night!
That reminds me, there was a man plaing a tu(a while we were at the 5entral 1ark carousel. Turns
out he is someone who was =677$; from the 7ational 5arousel 6ssocation for (eing a *T6-)$!!!!!
"'d love to know the sordid details of the rest of this stor!!
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI2xiN<>xvW)s
5ould (e worse! 6t least he isn't after 0$!!!!
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIj8.!x87fjho
/anette was also telling me that when she came (ack here (efore dinner the folks with the (a( were
catting around in the hallwa. 6nd, of course, the little (ugger started wailing as usual.
6t least the nois people in the next room finall shut up at least an hour ago. " didn't want to confront
them (ecause things like this don't usuall end well for me. " alwas end up (eing the person who
ends up looking like the (ad gu (eing made to feel ashamed.
P7oteG this is toned down from the original manuscriptS
0$G +Would ou mind keeping it down, we're trig to sleep.,
T#$0G +We're not that loud!,
5R..........................ght!!!6
T#$0G +There are other people (esides ou!,
5R.........................ght6
T#$0G +8ou just have to deal with it and tune it out.,
6nd the tell me ",0 the one who's (eing rude and inconsiderate...
5rimon! " keep forgetting to take m meds. " can't (elieve " forgot to pack pills for tomorrow night.
What "'m going to do is take the Q::mg tonight and the timed release one tomorrow.
$$)! F am alread! Well, we can sleep all we want after (reakfast.
" just hung the +;o 7ot ;istur(, sign on the door so " don't frget tomorrow. We don't want anone
coming in when we want to go (ack to sleep. What " reall need is a sign that sasG
A&'A(Y ()ST*&+'(, (-./T 0*S1 Y-*& *23,,
W"en t"e Bu'+et ,!st Be'o(es t"e 1u'+/It ,!st
Sunday, September 21st
What a da this has (een so far. Tomorrow when we go to the airport we are *O asking to (e pushed
around in wheelchairs. We are exhausted and so tired of how all the things that are supposed to (e
simple have (een so (lood complicated. $ven tring to use the phone has (een a major ordeal.
This morning was good. We enjoed (reakfast and everone was so nice. "t feels like (reakfast time
was a completel different da. " was hoping the would hand out pamphlets and trinkets to promote
next ear's convention (ut the didn't. Turns out the were (eing handed out the first night at dinner
which " didn't attend (ecause " was sick. /anette managed to save one for me. "t appears to (e a red
leather folder. "'ll get a (etter look at it when " get homeC it will (e like a gift to open.
6fter (reakfast " went (ack to (ed and slept for at least another hour.
/ust (efore noon we dragged ourselves out to the lo(( to go for lunch (ut that's when " started
majorl losing spoons. The sun streaming in from the sklight was wa too (right and " didn't have m
sunglasses. Too man people were making too much noise and " was rapidl (ecoming more and
more overwhelmed. There was no wa " could do this and " was increasingl frustrated (ecause "
wanted to order room service (ut we couldn't get our stupid phone to work! /anette was losing spoons
too and " ended up having to go to the front desk mself, carring the offending phone with me as "
went tearing down the hall as it seemed to stretch out longer and longer (efore me. " just snapped and
started screaming. The elevator opened just in the nick of time so " could duck into it (efore anone
else could see me. " know a funn stor from m hus(and's childhood involving screaming and
elevators (ut "'ll tell ou later. 6t least remem(ering this at the moment is making me laugh (ut ( the
time " made it to the front desk " was hunched over the counter (awling mu lungs out like a (a(.
+5an " help ou?, asked the receptionist.
+*ome(od kill me now!, " so((ed.
6t least #oll was there, tring to calm me down (ut at that point " had to so( even harder (efore "
actuall could calm down. " find people telling me to calm down and even look at them, and even
tring to hug me makes me even worse. What " need is (reathing space. When " was coherent
enough to speak " told her a(out the phone and that we wanted two (owls of chowder from room
service. *he asked them to (ring the soup to our room and send a technician for the phone and she
walked me (ack to our room and managed to fix the phone for us herself. *he even arranged our
wake&up call for us. " wanted 2G::, /anette wanted JG::. We met halfwa ( agreeing on JG.:. " dared
not touch the phone again for fear of screwing it (ack up (ut " had to talk to m hus(and. *o " needed
to use /anette's cell phone. The trou(le is " needed her to dial it for me (ecause " don't know how to
use it. = then (oth of us were ft to (e tied. " was still (awling m ees out when " was talking to ;ave.
#e said ma(e " shouldn't go to anmore carousel conventions. While " was spilling m heart out to
him our chowder arrived.
" still couldn't stop cring while " ate. =oth /anette and " are at the end of our ropes. "f the plane doesn't
crash and kill us on the wa home, God (etter have (etter plans for us soon. 6t least " have an ace up
m sleeve. =ette /ac4ues wants to order another T&shirt and /im wants to commission me to make a
4uilt for the =erkshire carousel.
"'ve also got the Geneva 6utism *mposium coming up (ut " feel like " don't even want to GO anmore
if " can't get someone to drive me there. " don't think " could handle dragging all t9hat stuff from >nion
to the 0etro 5onvention 5entre all ( mself during rush hour anmore. $speciall with all that
dreadful construction going on everwhere! "'m even willing to pa for their parking. $ven if " opt out at
least "'ve donated m first 4uilt to their raffle.
=oth of us were feeling frantic and suicidal after our ordeal toda. 6ll the drama we've (een through on
this trip makes us feel like we never want to travel again. *crew #ouse on the !ock! *crew 0rtle
=each! *crew -as Degas!
" sa that now (ut when " get on m computer at home and see all those pictures and videos "'ll
pro(a(l think it was worth it all after all and start getting (itten ( the travel (ug all over again.
$ver ear " sa "'m going to lose a few tons ( next ear's convention (ut despite m (est intentions
it never happens. "t doesn't help that "'ve (een stuffing m face like a wood&chipper this afternoon. "
eat when "'m stressed. Toda " feel like " could devour everthing in m path like God3illa!
!666666!!!! 6nd it doesn't help that m medication has caused weight gain. " now understand wh
certain carousels have these stupid weight limits. $ven if the horses are actuall capa(le of carring
me, the staff who run these things aren't usuall 4ualified to help, especiall in the case of a falling
situation. " think that all carousels should (e re4uired ( law to provide riders with a folding step&ladder
for the staff to (ring to riders who are up too high. The had that at !oseneath and the had one at
1T5 'M in =urlington, 5olorado. 6t least if there are no step&ladders, "'m glad there's alwas (een /im.
#e's (asicall (een m personal (odguard on this trip. 6fter the incidents at 7unle's and
#empstead, "'m not supposed to get off m horse without him.
"'m tired. *o tired. =oth of us feel like we've (een (eaten up (ecause of all we've (een through. When
/anette's hurting "'m hurting. 6nd vice&versa. 6nd her dad just totall doesn't understand. #e tells her
to just keep on working to save for her retirement. " don't even #6D$ parents anmore. =OT# of mine
are ;$6;. =ut even if m mom W$!$ still alive she'd pro(a(l sa the wrong thing anhow and make
me even more upset. *he's had an uncann knack for doing that. The last thing we need are people
telling us how selfish and unreasona(le we are. That's wh we don't go to church anmore. "t's ironic
(ut carousel people are (etter and more compassionate to us than man so&called 5hristians. We
have found in recent ears a lot of the church people we've known have (een judgmental and sa the
wrong things. Things like we +don't have enough faith,, that we +need deliverance, or more recentl
are +spirituall low., That one reall hurt. 5hristians are supposed to (e compassionate. "t doesn't help
that so man of them have +(reeder mentalit, tooC children are such a (lessing, (e fruitful and
multipl, adadaada... "t's nice to (e around others who talk a(out things OT#$! than (a(ies! "
am so in m element when " can talk with other people a(out things " like such as carousels and art,
not to mention things like old commercials and TD shows. $speciall kids' programs.
=ack when we were at 7unle's (esides =ill /oel's walt3, the organ also plaed the theme songs
from 6nd Griffith, ;ick Dan ;ke and the <lintstones. We can thank =o( *tuhmer for this and his
arrangements for a +Wi3ard of O3, and +0ar 1oppins medle.
" would love it if someda, for m own carousel " could get arrangements made for Margaret&2 Walt7
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vI7(!2vpF:N.>
or the song " wrote, Mag.8 Car#*2elG
httpsGHHwww.outu(e.comHwatch?vIN2rF40r.>g8
We need wheelchairs tomorrow. We are totall (urnt out.
*omeone is vacuuming out in the hall. " wish it could (e a <ilter Rueen like the one we have at home.
Wh can't all vacuums (e that 4uiet? There have (een times when ;ave or " have vacuumed after one
of us has gone to (ed and the other person has slept right through it.
" have just (een to the (athroom onl to discover that the crotch of m (lack 5apri pants has ripped
from here to 0exico. Oh well, time to find m "nner 7inja once again! 78666666666666!!!
2G:9 pm
We've just enjoed a good, salu(rious feast. /anette had the penne with =olognese sauce and " had
the lo(ster mac B cheese. 6nd for dessert we (oth had the chocolate mousse cake. Talk a(out
orgasm of the taste (uds!! " can honestl sa that at this point it feels like this has got to (e one f the
greatest things "'ve ever tasted in m life! "f " were a(out to (e executed " would want this for m last
meal! " also had a nice cup of tea.
While we were waiting for our food this awful music was plaing. One of those dreadful pop divas who
sounds like she's giving (irth to a #ummer stretch limo! We had to plug in our own music while that
horrendous caterwauling was going on.
6 lad from the convention came to our ta(le and she was talking a(out Geo 5aching. "t sounds
fascinating. "'ve heard of this (efore (ut until now wasn't entirel sure what it reall was. "t's an online
treasure hunt. 0illions of people all over the world are involved with it everwhere. <olks post
coordinates and hide little treasures in film canisters, cigar tu(es and sometimes Tupperware
containers. "t can (e anthing from movie tickets to little tos from the dollar store and people leave
notes when the find stuff. "t sounds like something ;ave would get a kick out of. #e's alwas leaving
little things around for people to find. /ust check out the elevator at his chiropractor's office!
0 fellow carousel people have (een so great. "'m reall going to miss them. We were chatting with
another couple who were going off on a tour tomorrow and the gave me an unusual little rock. "'d like
to find out what it is. There is a sparkl little (it that sticks out looking almost like a topa3 in the rough.
;espite the horrendous emotional roller&coaster "'ve (een on this week, " still think " want to go to next
ear's convention after all. " hope there will (e no sickness or drama next ear.
When " think a(out it, perhaps the most perfect, drama&free convention "'ve ever (een on was that
ver first one in QKKQ. $ver one "'ve (een to since then has alwas had *O0$T"7G go wrongC
"n QKKF " caught the (rass ring on the 0artha's Dineard carousel and it fell from m fingers, there was
an em(arrassing moment at the #eritage 1lantation carousel and " started cring, and aaaaat Ruinc
market " (ought a T&shirt from 1urple 1anache that " slipped into !ichard's (ag and when we got (ack
to the hotel it was gone!
"n QKK. " had that (usiness with the 1rime ri( atht e(an4uet and when !ichard and " were watching a
movie in our hotel room the da we were waiting for )im and her mother to pick us up, " had a heav
gush from m period that made it look like some(od had (een axe&murdered on the (ed. " also had
some idiot make fun of me and call me stupid on the roller&coaster at *ea =ree3e.
"n QKKA " was getting crank during the long (us ride and had a meltdown when =u33 plaed a joke on
me ( (locking the (athroom door with his foot so " couldn't get out. #e used to do that to everone
(ut there's a time and a place for everthing. " do 7OT appreciate practical jokes when "'m feeling
shitt to (egin with! 6nd -isa wouldn't let me sleep. *he kept talking and asking 4uestions. "'d reached
that point where " was so tired " couldn't stop cring and " just wanted her to (ack off an leave me
alone. " was also coming down with a cold.
" didn't go to anmore conventions again until F::.. 6ctuall " don't remem(er anthing stupid
happening on this trip even though the idea of an eight&hour (us ride could have (een ripe with the
potential for drama.
"n F::9 " had that (usiness a(out not (eing a(le to take m T&shirts for sale across the (order so " had
to get ;ave and his dad to come all the wa to the airport to (ring me another suitcase for m clothes,
m purple (ag to (e exact, so " could send the =ig 1ink *uitcase home with the T&shirts and catch the
next flight.
" also had to deal with $urla making me promise "'d lose some weight. 8eah right. That will happen.
*he said she wanted to see less of me. *he saw less of me all right. " didn't go to anmore
conventions for the next TWO 8$6!*!!
=ut " knew " #6; to go to the F::2 convention. The onl drama " remem(er there was the (eginning
of the demise of m .9mm camera. "t wouldn't forward properl and destroed at least two rolls of film
and " had to get someone to drive to Wallgreens (ecause everone else had digital cameras except
for me and this other lad. 6t least that seems to (e the onl unpleasant thing that happened on that
trip.
"n F::K " had a moment of tears (ecause " had difficult mounting the horses at *oup "sland.
"n F:Q: " had to share the flight home with *$D$7 (a(ies!!! 6t least the were miraculousl 4uiet most
of the time.
F:QQ, QF and Q. have had their moments too. The're still fresh enough that "'d rather not mention
them at this point.
Or will "? F:QQ was pro(a(l the worst. 7O =6T#T>= in m hotel room, the ridiculous weight limit on
the 1ue(lo carousel and (eing so sick with a cold and altitude sickness while " was there, plus having
a meltdown at 1T5 'M.
F:QF was when " crashed and (urned at the closing meeting. "'ll spare ou the gor details.
6nd last ear " came down with that horri(le cold on the *aturda.
" think when it's come to unwanted draa this ear's (een the worst, (ut there's (een enough good
times, wonderful people and (eautiful carousels t still make it all worthwhile and make me want to
come (ack to next ear's convention. 6m " glutton for punishment or what?
My *t!'+ers are Co(!ng .nglued and *o A( I
Monday, September 22
nd
" #6T$ T#"* 1-65$!! " <>5)"7G #6T$ T#"* 1-65$!!! " W67T O>T O< #$!$! " W67T TO GO
#O0$!!! #ell must (e like this airport, a huge echoing area where no 01. plaer in the world is loud
enough to drown out the screaming infants that have (een caterwauling around here! Wh the <>5)
do people have to travel with =6="$*!! *ometimes " don't know who " hate more? =a(ies or the stupid
(reeders wjp "7*"*T on (ringing them $D$!8W#$!$!
" was ama3ed it onl took us F: minutes to get here. On the da we arrived the ride to the hotel took
over an hour!!
We had a 4uiet (reakfast of ogurt and muffins in our hotel room, not to mention coffee, of course. 6nd
when we finall got everthing packed we couldn't settle an longer so we checked out. We wanted to
split the (ill evenl (etween us, (ut of course someone's fucking (a( had to start screaming so
/anette just decided to charge the whole thing on her own (ill so we could get out of there faster.
=oth (enches outside the front door were strategicall placed to (e directl in the path of the (roiling
sun! " couldn't stand (eing roasted so " took it upon mself with a surge of adrenalin and super&human
strength to phsicall drag out (ench into the shade. Thank God it wasn't (olted to the pavement or "
would have wanted to turn it into )"7;-"7G!! On of the staff people just inside the door saw me
dragging the (ench (ut he didn't sa anthing or tr to stop me. Good, or " would have (een mad! "n
fact " alread was. " nearl did (reak the (ench in the process (ecause one of the screws came out in
the corner. " managed to put it (ack in so we could sit in the shade.
-oud enough to (lock out (a(ies in this cra3 airport is too loud to reall listen to m music
comforta(l. " just want to get going and (e on the plane (ut West /et doesn't even leave until this
6<T$!7OO7! When we were dropped off it looked like we were in the wrong area (ecause there are
no West /et signs to (e seen around here 678W#$!$! "n fact there's anthing =>T!! There's
everthing from =ritish 6irwas to "5$-67;! " imagine that when the time is right the signs will change
anwa. The appear to (e flat&screen monitors.
We're tired, we're hungr and we want to go home!
" miss /im and /ackie alread. The are the =$*T =>* 561T6"7* $D$!!! 6nd " want to (e on their
(us again next ear.
"'m seriousl thinking of not going (ack to school in 7ovem(er after all. "'ve alread taken the art class
twice and "'d like to take this time to work on m commissioned pieces. /oe's project still has at least
. or A panels to complete and "'m anxious to get going on the =erkshire project!
" think we're (oth feeling low on spoons around here! GP Our plane doesn't leave until around .G:: so
"'m afraid we wont (e home as earl as we told ;ave we would (e.
"n the process of fum(ling for m journal, " nearl wrecked part of one of m sheets of stickers and m
lovel, colourful -isa <rank horse folder is torn! GP
When "'0 in charge of the world it will (e "--$G6- to travel with (a(ies!! =ring all the pot and firearms
ou want (ut leave the nois, repulsive little (astards at #O0$!!!
" wonder if ;ave listened to '.n!l Ca$e esterda and taped the S.9p2#n2 last night. There are
certain things " miss a(out (eing at homeC cereal for (reakfast, chocolate milk, Tim #orton's!! 0 own
pillows and leopard&spotted comforter with m colourful tedd (ears, Tiggers and 4e2tr#!er (lanket,
not to mention m own (athtu( and a phone that isn't so (lood complicated and just (eing a(le to
insert a good old&fashioned )$8 into a good old&fashioned )$8 #O-$!! "t has felt like everthing in
this cra3 hotel has (een designed to conspire to cause meltdowns! +>n&(eeping, our stupid smoke
detectors at home seems like the lesser of two evils compared to all the complicated fut3 stuff we've
had to deal with in this room, especiall the thermostat. "t's complicated. " don't feel like explaining.
;on't talk to me a(out the thermostat. When " get home we will have alread have said good( to our
central air&conditioning for the season.
" am *O <!$6)"7G #>7G!8 " could chew m arm off! =ut " wouldn't literall want to do that. 8ou
know how " feel a(out meat with too much fat. This is wh " hate cottage roll. +" could chew m arm off,
is the new +#ungr enough to eat a horse!, "'ve alwas hated the latter expression to (egin with. The
word sounds more appeti3ing in <renchC viande de !eval" or in *panishG a#ne de a$allo. That still
doesn't mean "'d tr it even if anone tried to force me!
A#most 4:40
What a horri(le da this has (een. When we get home "'m filing a complaint to the *huttle (us
compan. The man who took us to our hotel on the da we arrived was wonderful (ut the driver we
had toda has (een grump and unfriendl and dropped us off at the W!O7G terminal! The people
who work there are unfriendl, incompetent and don't speak enough $nglish. The finall told us we
were " the wrong place after we'd (een waiting there for more than an hour. The told us where to go
and there was a train we could catch from one terminal to the next. " rushed off to the next car
(ecause the first thing " saw when the door opened was a (a(, its repulsive little red feet sticking up.
We'd alread dealt with a screaming toddler in this horri(le place where we'd (een kept waiting so
long. $ven with )"** on full (last we could still hear the little monster caterwauling.
On our wa from the sk train to the elevator there was a moving sidewalk. 6 mother with a toddler
pushed her empt stroller alongside the walkwa while the toddler got loos on the moving sidewalk,
darting (etween people, getting in everone's wa. We were so scared of her tripping and getting hurt
and cring. 6t least she was still in one piece when we got off the moving sidewalk (ut we let them go
ahead of us. *he seemed to (e darting around and shrieking forever until the finall disappeared.
We piled into the next elevator and closed the door as 4uickl as possi(le when we saw et another
stroller heading toward us. 6nd of course we had trou(le with the elevator.
Once we reached the terminal we were given the runaround again. 1eople give us directions (ut the
!$<>*$ to come with us and *#OW us where to go. The told us to see the women in the (lue vests
(ut the were useless too. We thought the were getting us wheelchairs (ut the seemed to (e giving
us the runaround too so we took off.
0ost people at the airport seem to (e just going through the motions. 0a(e the're just as (urnt out
as we are and have no patience for a couple of scatter(rained chuckle&headed pups like us! This
place is *O 7OT e4uipped for dealing with people on the autism spectrum. Toronto and ;enver have
(een much (etter in that regard.
When the finall got us our wheelchairs the left us parked until we thought hell was going to free3e
over! We were (oth ver hungr (ut staed where we were (ecause we had no idea when the were
coming to get us. We felt like the'd forgotten all a(out us.
<inall someone wheeled /anette awa. 6(out F: minutes later, or so it seemed, " was wheeled off.
When we finall made it to the departure lounge there was onl a(out ten minutes until takeoff time. "
wanted to sit down (ut a little girl was ling on the floor drawing in her colouring (ook diagonall in
front of the two seats and her mother must let her sta there where some(od could have tripped or
stepped on her! " know " nearl did! 6nd the women announcing the departures talked so (lood fast
we could hardl understand a word the were saing!
6nd, of course, shortl after we (oarded the plane some(od just #6; to (ring a fucking =6=8!!! " put
m 01. plaer on right awa. "t's (een cring on and off through the entire flight! We're not supposed
to turn on our listening devices until takeoff (ut " didn't care. " cranked up m tunes anwa. 1oor
/anette was cringing and plugging her ears. " ended up popping m ear&(uds into her ears (ut then "
had to gra( her i1od (ut " don't know how to use it so " took m 01. plaer (ack and handed her her
i1od. We were a mess of tangled cords for a moment (efore we could settle. " know the rules are that
ouTre supposed to have our listening devices turned off until takeoff (ut 6O " ;O7'T G"D$ 6 <>5)
and =. " know the drill (ecause "'ve (een on enough flights. =esides no(od 06;$ me take mine off.
1oor /anette was more concerned with (eing o(edient and tring not to get in trou(le and " was
frustrated with her allowing herself to (e tortured. "f anone made me turn off m music there would
have (een a major meltdown.
" have (een continuing from where " left off esterda. <or the remainder of our flight " listened to m
K:'s dance music (ecause there are no gaps (etween songs. $ven on +shuffle, one song flows right
into the next. The little monster screamed intermittentl through the entire flight with the odd shriek
that was still loud enough to (e heard over our music and sudden enough to cause me to (lurt out the
odd cuss word!The woman one seat in front of me across the aisle turned and glared at me a few
times. Well fuck her! 6t least two or three times during the flight the little monster shit itself! " gagged
and plugged m nose! " #6T$ =6="$*! " <>5)"7G #6T$ =6="$* 67; " ;O7'T 56!$ W#O
)7OW* "T!!!! 1ersonall " think anone who insist on travelling with these annoing little shits ought to
(e *#OT! There's 7O $%5>*$ for this! -eave our repulsive little (easts at #O0$ until the're at
least talking and toilet&trained!!
We wanted to (e the last people to get off the plane (ut the famil with the little monster were taking
forever getting off the plane and when the finall did, people just kept coming and coming and
coming. "t was worse than a freaking 5-OW7 56!!! When we experienced a similar phenomena on
the (us during the convention, someone joked that people were coming in through the (ack and going
(ack through again. *ort of like 0a B 1a )ettle's kids lining up for their picture!
When we got out of the plane and made our wa through the passage we saw someone waiting with
two wheelchairs (ut the weren't for us. The people with the (a( were catting at the front of the
lineup too. <inall when the left we took our time and tried to let them get as far ahead of us as
possi(le.
The first thing we did when we made it out of the passage was find a washroom.
6t least it wasn't that horri(le long walk like the one " had last ear on m wa home from )ansas, (ut
the first thing we hears when we were near customs was that same little shit shrieking like a demon&
possessed wolverine with a =artholin cst and a hot poker shoved up its ass. Onl kidding, a demon&
possessed wolverine with a =artholin cst and a hot poker shoved up its ass is much, much, much
R>"$T$!!!!! " fum(led with m 01. plaer and it />01$; off its cord, causing me to roar out another
f&(om(!
1eople were milling a(out at automated kiosks so we high&tailed it up past them. *ecurit guards told
us to line up and go to the officials. 6 man in a ellow vest directed us to an officials desk where there
was no lineup. = then we were (oth on the verge of a meltdown. We handed him our forms and said
+We just want to get out of here! We can't stand cring (a(ies! We're autistic and no(od knows how
to deal with us., +Well, that's airline travel., he said and waved us through without an 4uestions. #e
actuall had a kind face.
We made our wa to the (aggage carousel. " had heard enough of the speech to know that we would
find our luggage at carousel 'J. *ure enough, m =ig 1ink suitcase was the first thing " saw and with a
surge of adrenalin " whipped it off the conveer with m one free hand. That reminds me, while we
were at /<) waiting in our wheelchairs we saw a man with one arm. #e often used his stump to hold
things. "f it was trick enough tring to hold everthing with (oth our hands and feeling like we were
running out of hands, imagine (eing him!
/anette's suitcase seemed to take forever to arrive and we were starting to feel frantic again (ecause
$D$!8 suitcase looked like #$!*!! " let her rest and sta with m suitcase while " kept a lookout for
hers.
<inall, she saw it standing off to the side next to some(od else's suitcase. "f it wasn't for the pink
ri((on we never would have found it and it looked like some(od else was going to mistake /anette's
suitcase for theirs anwa despite the tag.
We were a(solutel starving so we were glad the first thing we saw when we left the exit was a small
cafe. We got a (ottled water and a roast (eef wrap to share (etween us (efore we could venture an
further. We were (oth starving! There had (een no food offered on the plane and (ecause of all the
(ullshit we'd endured at /<) we hadn't eaten since (reakfast and it was almost 9G::.
6t least "'d done this journe enough times that " knew the wa to ground transport. "'d also done this
part of the journe enough times to know that it was a hell of a long walk!
6t least when we finall got there we onl had five minutes to wait for our shuttle. " was ding to sit
down so " flopped down in to the nearest seat and (anged m head against the wall in the process.
6ma3ingl it didn't hurt that much. What has hurt the most on this trip has (een that (ruise on m right
arm where that clums oaf at #empstead -ake had his meat&hooks on me! "t's still prett vivid.
Our shuttle crawled through rush hour traffic at a pace that would make a snail look like *peed
Gon3ales! We were *O #>7G!8!! *o <!$6)"7G #>7G!8!! That roast (eef wrap we'd shared
seemed like just a drop in the (ucket.
When we finall got (ack to m place, the door was locked. There was no(od home. " fum(led for m
ke which had sunken to the (ottom of m (ackpack. )es. Good old&fashioned, solid, metal kes!
)es that go into #O-$*!! Good riddance to waving flims plastic cards in front of stupid electronic
receptors that refuse to work half the time. /ust a(out everone at that stupid hotel has had pro(lems
with their stupid ke cards, several times in fact, and usuall at the worst possi(le moment.
6s " let mself in " had to chuckle (ecause " remem(ered that +;ave's 7ot #ere, is the name of a ver
famous 5heech B 5hong skit.
One of the first things we did when we got inside was order pi33a. =ecause ;ave wasn't home from
work et, " was the one who had to make the call, which " had (een dreading (ecause " did not have
the energ to deal with anmore dit3, incompetent people who couldn't understand me. "'ve had m
share of issues tring to order deliver from such (eings in the past (ut the folks at good ol' Toppers
were good this time and " was actuall a(le to communicate with them as one normal human (eing to
another without an confusion. We were originall going to order a large pi33a with four toppings (ut
then we ended up adding a few more at the last momentC (roccoli, pineapple, chicken and now =OT#
kinds of olives along with mushrooms.
We waited nearl an #O>! for that pi33a and " was starting to get worried. /ust when " picked up the
phone and was halfwa dialing, /anette saw someone coming up the stairs. ;inner was finall here!
That pi33a at that moment seemed like the greatest thing "'d ever tasted!
Tuesday, September 24
rd
God owes me ="G!
" told #im " ;O7'T W$67T TO G$T *"5) on this trip. " told him " didn't want there to (e =6="$* on
the plane and " told #im " did 7OT want to come home to an (om(shells!!
=etween looking after m suicidall&depressed (est friend and 7OW m hus(and (eing sick again "
hate mself for wondering when "'ll (e a(le to work on m commissioned projects. " didn't know a(out
this until ;ave got up this morning (ut his leg has (een dripping like cra3. #e doesn't feel an pain
(ut he's had chills and fever and he looks terri(le! #is face is as red as a (eet, his ees are (loodshot
and his hands are extremel hot to touch. " had to help him walk to the (athroom and " had to help him
put his underwear on. "t ended up (eing (ackwards (ut he was too sick and tired to care. 6t least "'m
not having to change diapers or tring to dress a toddler.
6s much as we've had fun at this convention " have also felt like "'ve had to (e the strong one all week.
"'m the more seasoned traveller so " know what to expect at these things. =oth /anette and " don't like
crowds (ut it doesn't (other me as much when "'m among people " know, or m +tri(e, as -orraine
calls it. /anette doesn't like waiting in lines either (ut "'m willing to (rave it when "'m among m fellow
carousel people. " just use it as an opportunit to take pictures and chat with people. The people "
meet at these carousel conventions are mostl the same people who come (ack ear after ear so
the know me. 0ost of these folks are strangers to /anette. 6t least the have all (asicall (een kind
and don't judge us. =ut /anette did have sort of an awkward moment when a woman asked her to
take her picture. When /anette said she couldn't do it the woman said +5an ou get our hus(and?,
#$--O?! /anette doesn't even have a hus(and and even if she did ou'd think everone else would
have noticed that she didn't (ring him with her! 0ost people know "'m married (ut the've never met
;ave simpl (ecause he hates travelling and he's not interested in carousels.
6t least he hasn't said anthing derisAive a(out them since "'ve (een home. 0 hus(and sometimes
tends to tease me a(out how lame and horri(le carousels are and how much he hates that +awful,
screech, (and organ music. " appreciate that he hasn't teased me since "'ve (een home nor has he
said anthing dum( those times "'ve phoned him cring from the hotel room.
6nd to top it off when the taxi came to pick up /anette this morning, the driver was continuousl
acking awa on his cell phone. #e pulled into the drivewa acking awa on it and continued' tpo do
so as he loaded up her stuff and drover her awa. " don't think he even spoke to her. #$--O? "t's
"--$G6- to talk on a cell phone while driving. 6nd he pro(a(l thinks he can get awa with it (ecause
he wasn't speaking $nglish. " had a driver like that a couple ears ago when " was coming home from
the GO station the da " had to meet /an and <ede in 5avan to take me to =o(cageon to deliver the
(lue 4uilt to /ean to (ring to m art show. That same 4uilt that had (een the talk of the auction the
other night. =ut who cares a(out the 4uilt at the moment. " want to know that /anette got home safel.
" know she's (een hating her life and wanting to die (ut...
wouldn't it (e a corker if " lost the two most important people of m life within das of coming home
from the convention.
" still haven't done m laundr or the dishes. "n fact " even posted on m <ace(ook status that " would
gladl pa the last of m 6merican mone to anone who could come here and do it for me! " haven't
put m merchandise (ack in m suitcase et either.
" miss our central air&conditioning. Go figure, it's (een hotter these das since "'ve (een home than it
has all summer!
;ave has (een sleeping most of the da. #is dad is taking him to the hospital tomorrow morning and
will pro(a(l accuse me of not (eing helpful enough. -ast time ;ave was sick like this he missed three
weeks of work. " onl grocer shopped once and " was so overwhelmed " pro(a(l onl (ought a third
of the items on our shopping list.
" hope " don't have m second 0anic $pisode coming on. 6s much as "'ve enjoed the good things
a(out this ear's convention and "'m glad to have (een there, this past week has (een a real
emotional roller&coaster and "'m afraid it's not over et!
Wednesday, September 24
th
Well, /anette made it home safel. The ca( driver taking her to the GO station did 7OT talk on his cell
phone anmore. =>T the ca( driver who (rought her home from <inch station didn't listen when she
told him to turn left and accused her of not telling him!
;ave didn't have to go to the hospital this morning after all, nor did he have to (e hooked up to a
pump. #is dad (rought him to >rgent 5are where his regular doctor happened to (e on dut that da.
;r. =olger just prescri(ed him some anti(iotics and he's a lot (etter alread. Two weeks off of work (ut
he can come (ack earlier if he feels (etter sooner.
6s for me, "'ve phoned *uper *huttle and filed a complaint. The gu who took us to our hotel on the
da we arrived was wonderful (ut the gu who took us to the airport on 0onda was grump and
unfriendl and (asicall fucked up our whole da (ecause he not onl dropped us off at the wrong
terminal (ut also -"$; a(out it! We wasted over an hour waiting in the wrong place on 0onda and
when the finall wheeled us to the plane the'd wasted so much of our time we hadn't eaten all da! "f
either one of use were dia(etic we would have (een screwed, chewed and (ar(ecues and " would
have had ever right to *>$!!! The lad on the phone was super nice and she sas "'ll (e getting a
!$<>7;!!!
The 'nd
Por i% it?S