New Jersey Stage Issue 43 | Page 25

That’s all I wanted to do. So, I’m walking around and Dad said we’re going to go to the car- nival for the fundraiser for the church. I had never been to one and when the lights went down, we went there. He said it’s also a clam bake. I saw people eat- ing these strange, exotic foods called steamers. And I got my first ear of corn on the cob! I died and went to heaven. I’m walking around - you know you’re 5 years old back then you could walk around and your neighbors looked out for you and you had friends there. The place was overloaded with peo- ple. There were ferris wheels and garish amusement rides and colored midway and games of chance. There were amusement rides that I had never seen be- fore with names like Tilt-A-Whirl and the even scarier name, The Scrambler. Imagine you’re five years old. The Scrambler, what’s it going to do to me? So, I walked off from the fam- ily. I was drawn to this strange Listen to The Smithereens cover “Lust For Life” NJ STAGE - ISSUE 43 INDEX NEXT ARTICLE 25