Musing About Things

Tidal Wave

My wife and I witnessed something that was both horrifying and hilarious at the same time during a visit to Busch Gardens in Tampa.

If you have never been there, one of the rides is called the Tidal Wave. About 25 passengers load up on a large boat and enjoy the scenery as it snakes lazily through a narrow waterway past stilt houses. It is a nice, relaxing ride as you meander past a replica of an African trading village. Then, it takes a slow climb upwards. Shortly after reaching the top, the boat plunges wildly down a sharp incline to a shallow pool of water, which sends a drenching wave over every passenger and all the spectators who have gathered on top of the bridge at the end of the small pool. It is a great, refreshing ride to take on a hot, Florida day.

Well, I had just gotten off the ride and my wife and I were sitting on a nearby bench, watching our children who wanted to stand on the bridge in the "Splash Zone" to catch the wave from the next boatload of passengers. We both noticed a man who looked to be in his 40's casually push an elderly woman in a wheel chair onto the bridge. He pushed her within the target area of the splash zone, turned her toward the shallow pool of water and positioned himself behind her. They were obviously waiting for family members to come down on the ride. It was clear to us that he wasn't aware that they were about to get drenched. When the boat started its descent, it suddenly dawned on the man what was about to happen and he bolted off the bridge, leaving the woman in the wheel chair unable to move out of the way. The boat hit the water at a high rate of speed and the giant wave had no mercy. I don't think the poor woman even had time to react as the wave crashed into her, leaving her completely soaked. The man, obviously shaken by what had happened, rushed out from behind the splash shield and tried to dry her off with anything he could find. Needless to say, from her actions, it was clear that she was not all right with the encounter. For a moment we were concerned that she had gotten hurt, but once we realized she was OK, we couldn't stop laughing. I'll bet he still hears about that one. I hope it wasn't his mother-in-law.

Absent-minded Moment

Absent-minded Moment

I was listening to the radio yesterday and the DJ asked his listeners to call in with a recent absent-minded moment. I have never called into a radio station before, but I tried numerous times, only to be greeted with the hateful tones of a busy signal.

When I finally managed to get through a friendly voice (not the DJ) informed me that the absent-minded segment was coming to an end, but the DJ still wanted to hear my story and I should write it on his Facebook page.

Well, I decided to write it here instead:

My daughter is married and lives about four hours away. When she was visiting with us recently she accidentally left her cell phone behind. I offered to mail it to her and made my way to the post office during my lunch hour on Monday. Before leaving the post office I sent a text to my daughter indicating that her phone was on the way. It wasn’t until I got home and had the following conversation with my wife that it finally dawned on me how absent-minded I had been:

WIFE: Did you mail Amanda’s phone?

ME: Yes, I sent it priority mail.

WIFE: Did you let her know?

ME: Yes, I sent her a text, but she never texted me back.

WIFE: A text? What phone did you send the text to?

ME: Her cell.

WIFE: You mean the one that you just mailed to her?

ME: (and the synapses in my brain finally come to life) Uhh… (nuff said).