I love constancy.
I find it quite comforting.
I looked it up once in the dictionary, and even its definition was elegant and appealing to me:
Which brings me to amusement parks.
Since I only visited amusement parks as a child in Iran, in my mind's eyes, amusement parks are only about merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, bumper cars and cotton candy. No plush mascots or beautiful princesses. I am talking simple mechanics, no computers and no fancy technology.
And since I have found amusement parks in this side of the world, a world all on to themselves, I have not been in a hurry to introduce them to our girl yet... except on the pages of one of her beloved books Angelina Ballerina, who also happens to have the same old fashioned Fair values as our family.
But the other day, when our friend told us of an "old fashioned" fair in San Jose, we had to brave the heat and the summer crowds to see if indeed this place was as old fashioned as promised.
For both the UrbanToddler and I, it was love at first sight with Happy Hollow. The merry-go-round, the small, old, rackety roller coaster (which of course we only admired from a far), the lady bug and mini-car rides, all had us at hello.
I loved that once upon a time I also had this very same experience as my girl was having now. I loved that the excitement of the rides and sharing a thrilling time with childhood friends was not diluted by mascots and plush toys and over the top technology. That there was still so much fun to be found in the plain mechanics of life (or so it appears).
I find it quite comforting.
I looked it up once in the dictionary, and even its definition was elegant and appealing to me:
con·stan·cy/ˈkänstənsē/Noun
1. The quality of being faithful and dependable.
2. The quality of being enduring and unchanging. Which brings me to amusement parks.
Since I only visited amusement parks as a child in Iran, in my mind's eyes, amusement parks are only about merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, bumper cars and cotton candy. No plush mascots or beautiful princesses. I am talking simple mechanics, no computers and no fancy technology.
And since I have found amusement parks in this side of the world, a world all on to themselves, I have not been in a hurry to introduce them to our girl yet... except on the pages of one of her beloved books Angelina Ballerina, who also happens to have the same old fashioned Fair values as our family.
But the other day, when our friend told us of an "old fashioned" fair in San Jose, we had to brave the heat and the summer crowds to see if indeed this place was as old fashioned as promised.
For both the UrbanToddler and I, it was love at first sight with Happy Hollow. The merry-go-round, the small, old, rackety roller coaster (which of course we only admired from a far), the lady bug and mini-car rides, all had us at hello.
I loved that once upon a time I also had this very same experience as my girl was having now. I loved that the excitement of the rides and sharing a thrilling time with childhood friends was not diluted by mascots and plush toys and over the top technology. That there was still so much fun to be found in the plain mechanics of life (or so it appears).
And that whether its San Jose's Happy Hallow in 2011 or Tehran's FunFair in 1975, many many tears will be shed when time comes to say goodbye.
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