Fire in the Mountain

Fire in the Mountain

This is for my Dad Dick.
The tallest man in my world.
I wanted to write something for you Dad who is the tallest man I know. I remember reaching up for your hand and how your soft skin feels and smells on my cheek.
rambling thought: (Now I have come to hypothesize we do smell each other's scent which I believe is actually DNA.
When Carol said acids break apart the DNA, I thought, skins have acids that free DNA so we do smell each other. Do I smell Dad's DNA and say, ah, centuries of me....)
Dad knows I go off and ramble sometimes and he is always there to point out the realities of life from one who has traveled to the other side of the planet.
He was close to my age when we went on a family vacation which was reported to be much more wonderful than it really was although I wouldn't trade some moments for all the gold in China.
I have a hard time thinking how I would have managed with 7 kids.
We went to a hillbilly theme park which was not Disney world by any means. More my style though with sweets and treats and rides and skits.
We begged to get on the Fire in the Mountain roller coaster.
It looked innocent enough. It was in a cave which made it more attractive.
We all got on and I sat with Dad separated by a safety belt.
The roller coaster started and your heart starts thumping. You look at each other for reassurrance, fists tightening on the saftey bar which sudddenly feels flimsy. Can we stop?
Breathing gets faster, deeper, and suddenly we were off through the cave of fires and radical curves, jolts, bends and bangs. I worried about Dad's head with the low black ceilings.
He worried about me and would I fly out and we hung on to each other for dear life.
I heard the sibling screams and the thrill was excitingly enjoyable and dreadful at the same time. The safety belt rubbed a spot raw on my right arm that I looked at for a long time late at night in my bedroom where I could be alone.
How Dad saved my life hanging onto me and also gave us the gift of experience. No matter how much he sputtered on that vacation, I am sure he too felt a purpose in the world as he recalled hanging onto his baby daughter to keep her from spinning off into the darkness.
Thanks Dad, I hope you can read this before your lights go out and the music stops entirely.