We saw at a carnival one time a very unstable ferris wheel sitting on wood and bricks like that. I like rides but no way was I getting on it. Totally accident waiting to happen.
Years ago I heard those parking lot carnivals would have an accident. They would go away, change their name and be right back out there with the same defective equipment. True or not I've no idea but I do know I never and never allowed my kid to get on those rides.
I learned that when I lived across the street from a developer. You build a subdivision then the company goes out of business leaving no one to process warranty repairs and starts up under another name. Just part of the game.
Oh yeah, that's also why most big subdivision developments are done in phases. Each phase is built out by a different corporate entity, legally speaking. So once phase I is complete, the controlling "company" is administratively dissolved, and a new one established for phase II (and so forth) leaving no one to go after (easily) for shit workmanship or other major problems.
It's a giant joke, and I'm surprised it has been allowed to continue. Obviously, the big home builders have excellent lobbyists.
I have some experience with carnivals, mainly from back in the 1960s. Don't eat the food unless you see the carnies eating it - breakfast, mainly. The games are fixed so you can't win. Accidents due to equipment failure are rare, because no one wants an accident. What you have to watch out for is the vomitorium. This is generally a spinning cylinder which will hold you against the wall by centrifugal force, then the floor drops away from you. It's fine until someone's stomach issue's a return to sender on his or her last meal, and that's that. What a mess!
The food at a carnival is probably better now than it used to be, but if the show is in town for a weekend, or if it's the last day, the ERs will be packed up the next day with digestive ailments caused by bad hot dogs, hamburgers, or mystery meat.
Sometimes when things were bad at work I would wonder if instead of being an accountant I should have tried the carny lifestyle. Traveling from town to town, operating the Ferris wheel, getting drunk in my trailer, squalid sex with tattooed women. At times it seemed preferable to the quarterly close.
There was one that set up in a big parking lot 2 minutes from our old house every May for three weeks. I always liked to see the place when I drove by at night, seemed like a slice of childhood. But we didn't live on a real nice area, so I never went nor let my kids go. The oldest told me they believed the carnival was actually called "Knife in gut fair." I taught them well. -Just a chemist
I grew up in the carnival. My dad would set up and run the Ferris wheel. My mother was the floating lady. One of my uncles would set up and run the merry go round. Another uncle was a "Barker". I knew a lot of the people that worked on the carnival and most were really good people. There were a few of the guys who would get drunk and get in fights but the boss wouldn't let them drink while they worked they did their drinking on their own time. It was a great life for a kid. I think I went to every city in New England and up-state NY. We even went into Canada. For the carnies it was a lot of work setting up and breaking it back down and moving on. The actual "carnival" part was easy. This was in the 40's and I was 6 YO or so and would roam the carnival freely all day and night. Every carny knew me and they watched out for me. There were a couple more kids and my older brother there too. One place we set up had a "Wall of Death" ride where a man drove a car around inside it with a full grown lion sitting beside him. Another time we had a young man who would dive off a 100' tower into a pool that was six feet deep. One year we had the biggest man in the world as an attraction and I remember shaking hands with him. My dad had one of his rings that was so large you could pass a silver dollar through it.
A customer brought a carny ride in to have some modifications done to the carrier trailer. I started looking it over and called him back to tell him how bad the original manufacturing was on it. We usually call a poor bead "bubblegum", but the welds on this thing looked like birdshit. When I showed it to him, he thanked me for not allowing him to kill a few little kids. I've still got that ride outback somewhere. When someone asks about it, I call it my chick magnet
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We saw at a carnival one time a very unstable ferris wheel sitting on wood and bricks like that. I like rides but no way was I getting on it. Totally accident waiting to happen.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of a FEM. Don't want to deny the folks their carny ride.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I heard those parking lot carnivals would have an accident. They would go away, change their name and be right back out there with the same defective equipment. True or not I've no idea but I do know I never and never allowed my kid to get on those rides.
ReplyDeleteI learned that when I lived across the street from a developer. You build a subdivision then the company goes out of business leaving no one to process warranty repairs and starts up under another name. Just part of the game.
DeleteOh yeah, that's also why most big subdivision developments are done in phases. Each phase is built out by a different corporate entity, legally speaking. So once phase I is complete, the controlling "company" is administratively dissolved, and a new one established for phase II (and so forth) leaving no one to go after (easily) for shit workmanship or other major problems.
DeleteIt's a giant joke, and I'm surprised it has been allowed to continue. Obviously, the big home builders have excellent lobbyists.
I have some experience with carnivals, mainly from back in the 1960s. Don't eat the food unless you see the carnies eating it - breakfast, mainly. The games are fixed so you can't win. Accidents due to equipment failure are rare, because no one wants an accident. What you have to watch out for is the vomitorium. This is generally a spinning cylinder which will hold you against the wall by centrifugal force, then the floor drops away from you. It's fine until someone's stomach issue's a return to sender on his or her last meal, and that's that. What a mess!
DeleteThe food at a carnival is probably better now than it used to be, but if the show is in town for a weekend, or if it's the last day, the ERs will be packed up the next day with digestive ailments caused by bad hot dogs, hamburgers, or mystery meat.
Mad Jack
Sometimes when things were bad at work I would wonder if instead of being an accountant I should have tried the carny lifestyle. Traveling from town to town, operating the Ferris wheel, getting drunk in my trailer, squalid sex with tattooed women. At times it seemed preferable to the quarterly close.
ReplyDeleteCarnies all have small hands and smell like cabbage.
DeleteThese days you don't need a carnival to find the tattooed women...
DeleteThere was one that set up in a big parking lot 2 minutes from our old house every May for three weeks. I always liked to see the place when I drove by at night, seemed like a slice of childhood. But we didn't live on a real nice area, so I never went nor let my kids go. The oldest told me they believed the carnival was actually called "Knife in gut fair." I taught them well.
ReplyDelete-Just a chemist
I grew up in the carnival. My dad would set up and run the Ferris wheel. My mother was the floating lady. One of my uncles would set up and run the merry go round. Another uncle was a "Barker". I knew a lot of the people that worked on the carnival and most were really good people. There were a few of the guys who would get drunk and get in fights but the boss wouldn't let them drink while they worked they did their drinking on their own time. It was a great life for a kid. I think I went to every city in New England and up-state NY. We even went into Canada. For the carnies it was a lot of work setting up and breaking it back down and moving on. The actual "carnival" part was easy. This was in the 40's and I was 6 YO or so and would roam the carnival freely all day and night. Every carny knew me and they watched out for me. There were a couple more kids and my older brother there too. One place we set up had a "Wall of Death" ride where a man drove a car around inside it with a full grown lion sitting beside him. Another time we had a young man who would dive off a 100' tower into a pool that was six feet deep. One year we had the biggest man in the world as an attraction and I remember shaking hands with him. My dad had one of his rings that was so large you could pass a silver dollar through it.
ReplyDeleteGreat story, Anon.
DeleteA customer brought a carny ride in to have some modifications done to the carrier trailer.
ReplyDeleteI started looking it over and called him back to tell him how bad the original manufacturing was on it.
We usually call a poor bead "bubblegum", but the welds on this thing looked like birdshit.
When I showed it to him, he thanked me for not allowing him to kill a few little kids.
I've still got that ride outback somewhere. When someone asks about it, I call it my chick magnet