That was the year a cheesy theme park named Old Indiana opened near Thorntown, Ind. As chief of the Metro North Bureau of The Indianapolis News, I was invited to a preview day when area residents were admitted free as a kind of dress rehearsal for the grand opening a week or so later.
The park owners had licensed the use of Hoosier writer Johnny Gruelle's beloved characters Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy. They had elaborate costumes made for the characters and hired a couple of college students to wear them around the park.
Another reason for the preview day was to get some patrons into the park for the purpose of shooting video and stills for TV commercials and print advertising.
Which brings us to this photo - Raggedy Ann on a ride called the Paratrooper. Raggedy Andy is on the ride too, but outside the frame.
Those of us on the ground shooting photos thought the girl and boy in the costumes were doing a terrific job of being animated - kicking their feet and waving their arms wildly. It made for great video and stills.
What we learned later was that they were becoming violently ill inside their stuffy, claustrophobic costumes. Imagine being stuffed into a trash bag and then flung around in loopy circles, soaring 30 feet into the air and plunging back toward earth.
What we took for joyful exuberance was a couple of college kids screaming and waving for someone to stop the freaking ride. Their screams, of course, were muffled by the giant character heads and their gestures were completely misunderstood.
To their credit, the two recovered and didn't quit. But on the condition that they didn't have to go on any more rides.
1 comment:
This is one of my favorite stories of yours ever. Every time I think of this I laugh.
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