REMEMBERING THE SKYLINER

During the one summer we spent in Nashville my mom often dropped me off at Fair Park with change in my pocket. I was eleven years old with no fear of staying a few unsupervised hours in the park on my own. It was a day and time too that my mom had few worries about my safety.

The pocket change had to be rationed in order to do everything I wanted. I had to have a hotdog, later an ice cream cone, some cotton candy, and then take as many rides as I could get on the Skyliner. The Skyliner was a John Allen designed wooden roller coaster with steep climbs, bunny hops, and tight turns.

Sometimes, if I ran out of money, I would go over and search the area under the “Roll-O-Plane,” or as my dad called it, “the Bullet.” Riders were always losing their change or anything else from their pockets, as the ride sped and twisted around high above. You had to be quick though, and between rides, or the ride operator would yell at you!

Often times, I did nothing but ride the Skyliner. I loved the g-force in the turns and how it made my stomach seem to float during the downhill runs. I had always wanted to be a pilot and my heroes were super-human men like Chuck Yeager, or Scott Crossfield, Joe Walker, Bob Rushworth, Neil Armstrong, Bill Dana, or any of the fifteen pilots of the X-15. I read everything I could get my hands on about any of them.

I even loved and admired movie stars that played pilots, like John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart.

My strategy was always to get the front seat if possible. I was not one to sit in the back, raise my arms, and scream with all the girls. I wanted to be at the controls, to push her over into a steep strafing dive and them pull’er up at the last minute, release my bombs, and yank her into a hard right turn out of danger.

I loved to keep my forearms hard against my thighs, hands fast around the imaginary stick as the dive began, fighting to control my breathing, and then lean with the turn and look back over my right shoulder watching the ground come up fast. I was also alert for the enemy that might be on my six, ready to barrel roll in the opposite direction out of danger!

For those few minutes I was flying and the danger was real. I was Chuck, and I loved it!

The time to meet mom at the entrance came too fast and I was often tempted to take her down “the valley of the shadow of death” once more before leaving.

I loved being a boy and I loved being a kid – still do! I also miss the ol’ Skyliner.