October 15, 2007
Carny folk like the guy pictured here (from whom we feel no need whatsoever to dissociate ourselves, as anyone who goes to work with white knee-length socks and a personal fan is unlikely to consult legal advice on matters relating to libel) like firemen, police officers, bus drivers and rodeo clowns, are placed in positions of trust, and are counted upon daily to take good care to properly bolt down the Vomit Coasters and tilt-a-whirls of this world (keen-eyed readers will note an unprecedented, back to back referencing of tilt-a-whirls, in our estimation, a blogosphere first).
While we appreciate that the repeated exposure to objects going around and around in circles represents a rather obvious metaphor for the cards you’ve been dealt by the great blackjack dealer in the sky (an allegory Pat Sajak would flatly deny), that’s no reason whatsoever to be asked to ’step, right up, don’t be shy’ to a Breathalyzer like the operator of a ‘the Hurricane‘ ride was at a South Carolina county fairground. The carny, who might have made a double entendre out of the phrase ‘ring toss’ was found ‘wobbling on his feet and yelling belligerently’, and promptly fired and charged with public intoxication.
This was apparently not the first time the particular fair has come under fire, as the week prior, a 3-year old riding ‘The Spider‘, a ‘teacup ride’ not nearly as genteel as the name might suggest, passed out–and the operator ignored repeated, frantic calls by the mother to stop the ride.
