Fond Memories

Happy 70th Birthday!

Dear Vin,

Yesterday was my 70th birthday and someone at the party asked me what I did on my 20th birthday 50 years ago. That brought back the embarrassing memory of Palisades Park. My husband and I were on our second or third date. We enjoyed several rides and it was a great birthday for me until he took me in the funhouse. I was walking on the moving floor--I believe it was called the Turkey Trot. I noticed that the man in the red booth was watching my every move. Then as I stepped off the buckling floor, my dress flew up in my face. The yells and whistles turned my face fire engine red. When my date (now my husband) told me in a whisper, that he saw my "blue" underwear, I was that much more embarrassed--especially as he knew the color and girls in those days were modest for the most part. A few weeks later I was watching a television show called "What's My Line" -- a television show where a panel of four people guess a particular person's line of work. I immediately recognized the contestant as the man who blew my dress up at Palisades. One of the panel asked him if she would be able to use his services (as she was trying to figure out his line of work.) He said that he would love for her to use his services. The panel did not figure out what he did for work in 20 questions. Then it was announced that his job was blowing up dresses at the Palisades Park Funhouse. The show and hearing the panel questions was special to me as I had been one of his victims. I went to Palisades several times after that--but I did not make the mistake of wearing a dress again.

Sandra