Kids Don’t Have All the Fun
The other day Norm and I were talking about our memories of family vacations. When I was young we usually visited my mom’s relatives in Missouri during the summer. My grandparents had a farm right outside of Springfield. One summer when I was about nine years old we had a huge family reunion and all the aunts and uncles and my cousins were there. We spent more time in Branson then we did in Springfield, so I should refer to them as Branson vacations. Branson was a little place back then with only a few attractions with Silver Dollar City being the main one.
That summer, back in 1974, was the first time I visited Silver Dollar City. We all went — my parents, my brother, and three sets of aunts and uncles with all of their children. After we got to the park we split up — the kids went one direction and the adults another. Back then I used a manual wheelchair and my parents decided I would be safer with them rather than spending the day with my cousins. I was very disappointed with the decision, but I soon realized that it was going to be a lot of fun. My mom’s sisters and brother and their spouses were fun people and I couldn’t believe how silly adults could be. I discovered that day that kids don’t have all the fun. Some adults really know how to have a good time, especially in an amusement park. And what’s even better is that there was no alcohol involved. Who knew grown-ups could have so much fun? I think it was at that time when I decided I couldn’t wait to grow up. Unfortunately now I wish I was still a kid.