In 1984 or 1985 I visited a carnival set up in a declining shopping center parking lot in my hometown. This was not the annual South Georgia Legion Fair that occupied the fairgrounds every fall. This was the small Geren Rides outift, which camped just south of town in the winter and set up their attractions at the Castle Park shopping center in between their road gigs.

For some reason I remember being there alone on a school night, which seems unusual. Perhaps I was there with a friend who was in line for a funnel cake or something when I decided to ride the Hammer.

I’m not a big fan of thrill rides, especially when they are operated by a dude who’s sipping from a bottle of cough syrup, so I’m not sure what possessed me to ride The Hammer. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress a girl or anything.

Anyway, I survived my ride on The Hammer. But I did not enjoy it. Nor did I derive much satisfaction from “the leap.” I guess the lesson I learned is that before you take the leap, make sure you’re relatively sure what you’re leaping toward.

In 1984 or 1985 I visited a carnival set up in a declining shopping center parking lot in my hometown. This was not the annual South Georgia Legion Fair that occupied the fairgrounds every fall. This was the small Geren Rides outift, which camped just south of town in the winter and set up their attractions at the Castle Park shopping center in between their road gigs.

For some reason I remember being there alone on a school night, which seems unusual. Perhaps I was there with a friend who was in line for a funnel cake or something when I decided to ride the Hammer.

I’m not a big fan of thrill rides, especially when they are operated by a dude who’s sipping from a bottle of cough syrup, so I’m not sure what possessed me to ride The Hammer. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress a girl or anything.

Anyway, I survived my ride on The Hammer. But I did not enjoy it. Nor did I derive much satisfaction from “the leap.” I guess the lesson I learned is that before you take the leap, make sure you’re relatively sure what you’re leaping toward.