The Chicken-Fried, Cedar Point Summer of 1983
Finding Love at the Amazement Park
I’ve been coming to Cedar Point since I was a little kid. In fact, I had my only near-death experience on the Mine Ride. Sitting next to my father and strapped in by a basic lap belt, I was just tall enough to get on. My palms were sweating. I was visibly shaking when we reached the first summit, seeing the 40’ drop ahead of me. As we careened toward an inevitable water crash at 42 mph, I lifted off the bench and leaned hard against the seat in front of me. Death flashed before my seven-year-old eyes! My father has always insisted that I was strapped in tight the whole time, but I know I stared the Grim Reaper in his black hole face.
Roller coasters have scared the bejesus out of me ever since. Not that I avoid them. Peer pressure ensures I ride every coaster at Cedar Point. When they opened Demon Drop this year, a steel nightmare with a surprise 60’ drop at 55 mph, I wet myself a little on first ride. But I never screamed. My friends thought I enjoyed it as much as they did.
And yet, I absolutely love Cedar Point. It personifies carefree abandon, unsupervised teenage mayhem, and deep-fried freedom seasoned with the scent of Lake Erie’s dead fish. I know the summer of 1983, my Cedar Point Summer, will go down as the best ever!
