Goodbye 2010

For the first time in four years I wasn't in Mississippi to greet the New Year. It felt a little strange to not hear the sound of gun shots amongst the fireworks that went off at midnight last night. The fact that the fireworks are illegal here made the sound a little more clandestine. I did, however, appreciate not feeling anxious about the bullets from the gunshots somehow winding up wherever I was. It was strange to wake up this morning, turn on the TV and watch the Rose Parade, not struggle out of bed at 6:30am to be at work in Pearlington by 8. 2010 closed a good chapter in my life.

One of my friends works at the S.C. Beach Boardwalk. It's a place that I have spent many an hour...I worked at the wharf adjacent to the Boardwalk for a couple of years. The Boardwalk has a roller coaster called the Giant Dipper. It was built in 1924. A little while ago, the ride operators of the Giant Dipper realized that they were close having a million riders for 2010. They decided to do a little promotion and try to reach the 1 million rider goal by closing on December 31st. This last week anyone could come to the Boardwalk, pay for one ride and ride as many times as they would like. My Middle School Intern, Jon-boy, and I thought it would be fun to go and ride Giant Dipper and help them reach their goal. So Friday, Jon-boy, R-girl and I headed to the Boardwalk. We arrived about 2pm. Our friend LN was there as we boarded the train, all laughing and having fun. We got off and immediately got in line and went again. We got off and went back to the line for another go-round. That's when we heard the cheers...the train that loaded as we got off had the millionth rider on it. LN told us later that she knew that the train after ours would be the one with with the millionth rider. We respected her integrity in not giving it up so that we could be on the train. So Jon-boy, R-girl and I have the distinction of being riders 999,973, 999,974, 999,975 (or somewhere close to that) on the Giant Dipper for 2010. I think that's a great way to end the year!

Goodbye 2010...thanks for the memories.