Day 19 - A roller coaster that makes you laugh

Big Dipper, Geauga Lake
From a numbers standpoint, this ride is against everything I believe in. It is not tall, steep, or fast. The ride itself is especially short as well. This is not surprising for a roller coaster built in 1925; however, this ride packed a punch until it closed in 2007 with the rest of the park (sob). Every hill offered EXTREME airtime. It was a ride I rode just to check off the list, but it offered so much more than I expected. The only response one can have after this short and sweet classic is a laughter-filled "Let's go again!

Note: The Big Dipper was a wooden roller coaster (out and back type) located at the now defunct Geauga Lake Amusement Park in Bainbridge Lake, Ohio. It originally opened in 1925 as the Sky Rocket. In the 1940s it was renamed the Clipper, and in 1969, it claimed the moniker of Big Dipper. Though the park closed in 2007, the ride remains in the original location.

Psalm 126:2 NAS

“Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."

Once I was on the metro in Washington and a young lady succumbed to an uncontrollable fit of laughter. It was so contagious that soon her partner was laughing, and whoever wasn’t laughing in the car was certainly grinning. Laughter is an amazing thing. It is healing, and the Bible says it is good for the bones. This has been verified by health studies.

The best reason for laughter is because God is Good and has done great things for you. Laughter is attractive and irresistibly draws you closer to others. Laughter reduces stress, helps you deal with pain, and increases your ability to push through a rough situation.

Every day we need a good dose of laughter. My Grandparents did not laugh much. I suppose life was serious business for the generation of war and Depression. But my nuclear family loved to laugh, and we still share private and public merriment when we communicate with each other. If you have a relationship that needs some mending, find something to laugh about together. Humor builds trust and confidence. Every day, you have a choice.  Don’t let laughter leave your life as you get older.