Friday - Gunspoint Mall
Jan. 27th, 2006 03:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninanevermoreToday on the drive into work, I was thinking about ferris wheels (the non metaphysical, non metaphoric kind). My son is spending the day with his grandfather, so I took a different drive into work this morning after dropping him off and I happened to pass a run-of-the-mill ferris wheel on my drive. I was astounded at how small it was. I've grown used to the other Ferris Wheel, which is enormous.
It was part of a carnival in the parking lot of shopping mall that caters to the working class now that it's anchor stores have all fled to more upscale locations. The area in Houston around Greens Bayou is called Greenspoint, but locals often refer to it as "Gunspoint" because of a wave of crime and urban blight that overtook the area 20 years ago and has only in recent years started to abate. Things are not so scary there now, but once a place has a reputation like that it is hard to shake it.
I actually worked in the area for years and never felt afraid; during the day it is filled with business people who work in the numerous office parks and skyscrapers around it. But most people who work there don't live there. Even the restaurants only cater to the business people and not the residents; they all close at 3 P.M. Monday through Friday. I grew up about 10 miles up the road from it and used to shop at Gunspoint Mall. I'm old enough to remember when the mall was new and clean and shiny. Now it's the type of mall where shabby carnivals set up in the parking lot; you never see them at the malls that cater to the wealthier clientele. Carnivals cater more to rural places and working class places, and to the occasional festival that adds them on as an attraction.
It's been years since I've been to a carnival. I have always liked them. It's been even longer since I've been on a ferris wheel. Jeff won't ride one with me. He's afraid of heights. Considering that he has a pilot license, I find this amazing. He said it's not.
"Lots of pilots are afraid of heights," he said.
"No way. Name one other pilot who is. I want to ask him about it," I said, "I want proof."
He changed the subject and I haven't brought it us again. I'm still skeptical.
Next time we're at a festival with a carnival attraction, though, I want to ride the ferris wheel even if it means riding it by myself. Maybe when my son gets older, he'll want ride one with me. We can feel like we're flying as we waive to his father standing on the ground looking up at us, with his pilot license in his back pocket.
It was part of a carnival in the parking lot of shopping mall that caters to the working class now that it's anchor stores have all fled to more upscale locations. The area in Houston around Greens Bayou is called Greenspoint, but locals often refer to it as "Gunspoint" because of a wave of crime and urban blight that overtook the area 20 years ago and has only in recent years started to abate. Things are not so scary there now, but once a place has a reputation like that it is hard to shake it.
I actually worked in the area for years and never felt afraid; during the day it is filled with business people who work in the numerous office parks and skyscrapers around it. But most people who work there don't live there. Even the restaurants only cater to the business people and not the residents; they all close at 3 P.M. Monday through Friday. I grew up about 10 miles up the road from it and used to shop at Gunspoint Mall. I'm old enough to remember when the mall was new and clean and shiny. Now it's the type of mall where shabby carnivals set up in the parking lot; you never see them at the malls that cater to the wealthier clientele. Carnivals cater more to rural places and working class places, and to the occasional festival that adds them on as an attraction.
It's been years since I've been to a carnival. I have always liked them. It's been even longer since I've been on a ferris wheel. Jeff won't ride one with me. He's afraid of heights. Considering that he has a pilot license, I find this amazing. He said it's not.
"Lots of pilots are afraid of heights," he said.
"No way. Name one other pilot who is. I want to ask him about it," I said, "I want proof."
He changed the subject and I haven't brought it us again. I'm still skeptical.
Next time we're at a festival with a carnival attraction, though, I want to ride the ferris wheel even if it means riding it by myself. Maybe when my son gets older, he'll want ride one with me. We can feel like we're flying as we waive to his father standing on the ground looking up at us, with his pilot license in his back pocket.
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Date: 2006-01-27 10:48 pm (UTC)Funny, for me a ferris wheel is the least scary ride ever. It's not like a roller coaster or even a Tilt-A-Whirl, which are both a lot more likely to fling your to your death.