How amusing.

The Mother of the Year is traveling this morning and will be filing later in the day from the Roller Coaster Capital of the World. No, I’m not braving the Millennium Force. But I figure I can give you some pictures of the tattoos and pudge on the midway. Later, dudes.

Posted at 7:30 am in Same ol' same ol' |
 

30 responses to “How amusing.”

  1. Julie Robinson said on August 14, 2008 at 8:17 am

    That roller coaster footage is not for the recently-breakfasted.

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  2. jcburns said on August 14, 2008 at 9:02 am

    Say hi to Ann Marie!

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  3. Dorothy said on August 14, 2008 at 9:10 am

    Seriously, Julie. I have heart palpitations!

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  4. gena said on August 14, 2008 at 9:38 am

    Are you staying over? I’m looking for recommendations for places to stay. If one shows that website to one’s nephews, ages 5 and 8, one has no choice but to plan to go.

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  5. coozledad said on August 14, 2008 at 9:46 am

    I can’t ride those things. My wife, however, is the kind who’d be hanging out of it and whooping. The last time I rode an “amusement” with her, it had a wheel in the center so the passengers could make it spin more. She was doing her damndest to make me puke. I just closed my eyes and waited for death.

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  6. alex said on August 14, 2008 at 9:49 am

    Seems like people didn’t used to barf on those things. Now every time I go I have near misses with people’s flying puke, so I’ve stopped doing amusement park rides.

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  7. coozledad said on August 14, 2008 at 10:04 am

    Not to mention the flying bodies, Alex. Someone was telling me a stoner attendant failed to lock the restraint bars on some ride that slings a carriage on a giant elastic band. No one got killed, but I’ll bet it was no damn fun anyway.
    Smacks of urban legend, though.

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  8. Jason T. said on August 14, 2008 at 10:39 am

    To the management:

    I am required by local ordinance to point out that the one-and-only Roller Coaster Capital of the World is Kennywood:

    http://www.amazon.com/Kennywood-Roller-Coaster-Capital-World/dp/0961439254

    Allegheny County and the Greater Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau await profuse apologies. Don’t make me sic the local TV news yakkers on you.

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  9. derwood said on August 14, 2008 at 10:43 am

    Guess I am the official roller coaster geek. If you want great videos and trip reports from the enthusiast community visit Themeparkreview.com I went on a trip with them to the UK Norway and Sweden back in 2006…just to ride coasters and other scary rides. Awesome trip.

    That’s me on the right…

    http://www.themeparkreview.com/uk2006/chessington/chessington21.jpg

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  10. MarkH said on August 14, 2008 at 10:45 am

    What Jason said! Dorothy, you agree?

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  11. Connie said on August 14, 2008 at 10:52 am

    My senior class trip – over 300 miles round trip in a day on school buses to that park, way back when. For some ridiculous reason I remember what I wore.

    I swore off all such rides after badly busting my tail bone on the log ride at the Mall of America some ten years ago. You know that picture they take during your ride and try to sell to you? Mine showed my face grimacing in pain as we heading over the final hump.

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  12. Danny said on August 14, 2008 at 11:10 am

    I wish we had had more time on this last trip to B’more. I would have really liked to have gotten to Hershey Park again even if only for the chocolate factory tour.

    Now the nephews are in town for three weeks so I’ll continue to be scarce. Y’all have fun.

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  13. Joe Kobiela said on August 14, 2008 at 11:14 am

    This could be a classic,
    I await Ms Nall’s reaction to a day full of teenagers, and the twenty something crowd. I remember some of her writings on the Branch County Fair, amusing to say the least. Post Pictures please.
    Pilot Joe

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  14. derwood said on August 14, 2008 at 11:52 am

    Yes…Kennywood…I would agree.

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  15. brian stouder said on August 14, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    another exciting thrill ride, thanks to the news wires

    EAST CHICAGO | ArcelorMittal personnel joined the U.S. Coast Guard and the Gary and Lake County police marine units in recovering a 4-year-old boy trapped on an out-of-control boat in Lake Michigan, police said.

    County police said Duane Tonks, 38, of Lansing, his wife and 4-year-old son were in a 17-foot power boat about a quarter mile north of the Pastrick Marina off the shores of East Chicago when Tonks and his wife were thrown overboard by a wave created by the wake of another boat.
    Police said Bobby Wheatly and John McFadden, who were in a nearby boat, pulled the couple out of the water, but the 4-year-old was still in the power boat which was speeding in circles near the steel mill’s break wall.

    The good news is, it ended well….but mom and dad should have some ‘splainin’ to do, in front of the judge

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  16. Jolene said on August 14, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    CNN just reported that the travel restrictions on Kwame Kilpatrick have been eased so that he can attend the Democratic convention in Denver. Can you imagine how delighted other public officials will be to have the opportunity to mingle w/ him?

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  17. Danny said on August 14, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    Hey, maybe Kwame, Bill Clinton, John Edwards and Jesse Jackson can all have dinner together one night. Gary Hart could be the keynote at that one.

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  18. Jolene said on August 14, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    Excellent idea, Danny!

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  19. Jen said on August 14, 2008 at 12:45 pm

    I don’t think I would probably have the guts to brave the Millennium Force, but I’m a pretty good sport about most coasters. The rest of the my family enjoy them immensely and always taunted me when I was scared, so I always rode, but it was always kind of a terrifying experience.

    As far as good amusement parks go, I grew up at Cedar Point, which still has some of the most fun rides, but last summer I went to Holiday World down in Santa Claus, Ind. It was wonderful! The park was spotlessly clean, the admission prices were decent and included free pop and admission to a water park, and the food prices were actually reasonable! I hoped to go this summer with my husband, but time and money didn’t allow it.

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  20. Joe Kobiela said on August 14, 2008 at 1:13 pm

    Husband!!!!
    When the heck did you get married? and why didn’t mom and I know!!!
    Love
    Dad

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  21. Dorothy said on August 14, 2008 at 1:19 pm

    Bet your ass he’s right!!

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  22. Danny said on August 14, 2008 at 1:25 pm

    Donny Iris is from Pittsburgh too, if I recall correctly. “Leah” is a great rockin’ tune. I think Donny also did a stint in Wild Cherry of “Play that Funky Music (White Boy)” fame.

    And look at Dorothy gettin’ all sassy! Love it!

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  23. Dorothy said on August 14, 2008 at 2:01 pm

    Donnie Iris was actually in the group The Jaggerz, Danny; I’m not sure if he was in Wild Cherry but I”ll look that up. And my own brush-with-Donnie Iris story is this:

    In 1973 my cousin Maggie (lived in New Brighton PA) had a babysitting job. She watched the 4 kids of Bill Maybray, who was in The Jaggerz. When Mag went to basketball camp for two weeks, she needed a replacement babysitter – and that’s where I came in (with help from Mag’s younger sister Katie). The kids were Danielle, Leslie, Billy & Chad. We’d put on their dad’s hit record and the girls knew every word, would dance and sing. Chad was the first baby boy I’d seen pee while I was in the midst of changing his diaper. Good thing I was not in the line of fire!

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  24. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on August 14, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    My vote is for Kennywood — the modern high speed coasters are impressive, but the clacking wood structures give you a bounce and flang-dang-wham experience that speed can’t make up for (but they’ve got one of those, too).

    I felt bad when they proudly announced two weeks back, at the opening of the Ohio State Fair, that all fair employees had to pass a rigorous background check, without any prior felony convictions. Where are released felons supposed to go to start back on the employment ladder? There aren’t that many muffler shops. (Given a recent discussion, they could work either side of the counter at a metal recycling smelter business.)

    Plus it killed a side of the whole people-watching thing at the fair — taking sidelong glances at the ride operators and skill game barkers, and wondering what their rap sheet looked like.

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  25. Jason T. said on August 14, 2008 at 3:57 pm

    It’s a yinzer rebellion on nn.c! Don’t fahr til yinz seena whites of ere eyes n’at!

    Dorothy, I saw a group billing itself as “The Jaggerz” (minus Dahnnie Ahrs) at a volunteer firemen’s fair a few years ago.

    I have never felt more pity for a group of people in my entire life than for those musicians playing in a shopping center parking lot for a handful of inattentive teens and senior citizens.

    FWIW, I worked for Kennywood for six years in high school and college. In all honesty, it’s really small beans by Cedar Point/Six Flags standards, but it’s a heckuva wonderful place to spend an afternoon/evening.

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  26. Hattie said on August 14, 2008 at 4:00 pm

    OOOH. Looks great. Scary rides but no scary dark people!!!

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  27. Jen said on August 14, 2008 at 4:13 pm

    Oh yeah, Dad, I was going to tell you…

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  28. Dexter said on August 14, 2008 at 5:51 pm

    August 14th, 2008 at 9:49 am

    Jeezuss, Alex! It’s THAT BAD now? I ain’t missin’ what I’m missin’ then…DAY-UMM !!

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  29. Dorothy said on August 14, 2008 at 8:47 pm

    Jason I did some research about the Jaggerz and Donnie Iris. He was indeed part of Wild Cherry, but joined them for their 4th album. Bill Maybray, whose children I had babystat, died in 2004. That would truly be sad to see them performing under such circumstances.

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  30. basset said on August 14, 2008 at 10:37 pm

    I remember going to Holiday World back when it was still Santa Claus Land… believe my folks had a Studebaker at the time, that’s how long it’s been.

    some of the rides from Opryland ended up at Holiday World after Opryland’s owners closed the park and built a mall on the site. one of the local TV stations did a hysterically funny news piece the summer after Opryland shut down… they just sat by the gate and waited for tourists who hadn’t gotten the word to show up. “what do you mean, it’s CLOSED FOREVER? We saved up all winter and drove our camper all the way down here, now the goddamn PARK is gone?”

    pretty low-rent mall, too.

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