Bumper Cars

Tom Wright, a builder, found some old bumper cars from the Long Beach Pike amusement park and wondered how they could be put to good use;.     He refurbished them into shiny new runabouts by replacing the engines to four cylinder Honda or Kawasaki 50's which can do 160 mph , added some wheels and voila . . .  a terrifying ride with such a short wheel base, but lucky for us traffic laws prevail.

It has been a lot of years since I rode in a bumper car.   There used to be a terrific amusement park in Revere Beach, Ma.   along with the roller coaster from hell.    If I close my eyes I can see myself in a bumper car feeling lost and scared as other cars bumped me around and me too timid to bump back.    It didn't take long to get the idea and soon I was bumping around like I knew what I was doing . . . looking for an out, I believe.   Now the roller coaster was not my idea, but my friend Marno who was a dare devil and nothing would do but to ride the first seat, then the last and to this day my timid soul recoils from even the thought of such a ride.   

Looking at these cars, I am thinking it would be fun to own one.   I can see myself tooling around town but at a normal speed, no high speed chases for me.  I am still timid, a lifetime curse I never lost, well you don't become an octogenarian by 'jumping off a cliff because someone else does' . . . see words remain as well as memories.     Don't you love pictures that bring back memories . . . I do.

So today, not only the start of a new week, but a new month . . . August the last of the summer weather and I wonder what it is going to be like . . . probably hot enough to send you to the beaches so go and look for an amusement park and see if they still have the bumper cars you can ride.  Remember to buy one of those big hot dogs and an ice cream cone.   Forget the cardiologist diet, the one that says "If it tastes good, spit it out." and order a double dipper and enjoy.    Make your seconds count today as you 'tootle' down life's highway.    Hugs to all.