Demolition Derby

OK, about 10 years ago a big group of singles went to out in the hicks Maryland and attended a demolition derby. A few of us even entered the raffle and each walked home with about $93 bucks.

It was quite the experience - and since all of us worked in Washington, DC at the time - it felt like we were experiencing some kind of culture shock.

Well, just a couple of us decided to go to it again. I guess we have to honor the past experience and take a break from the stresses of life.

And, it was a break. After going to a demolition derby you become quite grateful for your surroundings, friends, family and general way of viewing the world. Not that demolition derbys are bad, but there are more than the national average of "characters" located in one spot at the same time.

My little cheap replacement camera (my nice camera died after 8 years) didn't get that many legible pictures, but here's a link to the post my friend Pam put up and she says and shows the event better than I can - http://pammyshep.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/demolotion-derby/

Riff-Raff - characters at Kings Dominion

Ok, we needed a break from all the work stress this past week and drove south to spend a few hours on roller coasters at Kings Dominion. I can only handle so much of these things and I find myself praying an awful lot just to make sure that I'm not part of some tragic accident.

However, perhaps I should have been praying for all the characters that were walking around. Good-ness! I guess this was a good dose of reality compared to the northern Virginia bubble! Some of these people forgot that they weren't sitting at home in their personal jacuzzi and/or didn't realize that hemp tattoos might not be a bad idea when you are tempted to plaster your entire body with graffiti. It's one thing when you are a legitimate Polynesian chief, but it's an entirely different story when all skin is covered with skulls/crossbones, your ex-girlfriend's first name, logo of your place of employment or a map. Yes, a map...and not for treasure.

The amazing thing was that parents already had their 5-6 year olds talking, walking, dressing and acting like themselves. That's great if you are a profound person, but what I described isn't sounding that way, aye?

It was a mixture of entertainment and sadness. Sadness because I caught a glimpse of how each person really passes on the good and the bad to the next generation.

After some rides, some nausea, some junk food and some four hours later - we decided the entertainment was enough. After all, if you stick around...you might start thinking this is normal behavior. No thank you. For now, I will return to the bubble.