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Action Park
Oh, growin’ up …. (Yes, hopefully, you’re hearing that the way Springsteen sings it.)
One of the things I’m fascinated with is how people change; or don’t. Not as individuals — but how different an experience it is to be a teen in 2013, 2003, 1993, 1983, 1973 — well, you get the picture.
Some things change, some things remain the same.
It’s one of the reasons I like reading historical contemporary teen books. Historical not meaning historical fiction; historical meaning, books that were contemporary at the time they were published but now, because of the passage of time, offer a valuable window into a different time and place. Into history. (This is part of the reason I’m so looking forward to the Lizzie Skurnick books, because it’ll be so much easier to find the good older books!)
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And one of the things that I’ve seen change, from my teen years to teens now (and yes I know not every teen, standard disclaimers on that) is the involvement of parents in the lives of teens, the type of freedom given to teens, and the regulation of teen lives.
All of this is a fancy way of saying
Action Park.
As part one explains, Inside the World’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park; part two is The Demise of the World’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park.
Want to understand, a bit, the different world that the teens of the late 70s, 80s, and early 90s grew up in?
Check out the two part documentary, in the above links.
See the rides that don’t even have have helmets as kids go down the side of a mountain. Listen to the people laugh about the injuries.
Some of my favorite quick quotes from the documentary:
“pretty wild ride. never quite perfected”
“the drownings were difficult. we had a few”
and finally:
“yeah, they may have scars ….. but they had fun”
True fact: even thought Action Park was in New Jersey, and open during my teen years, I never went. Geographically, Great Adventure and the Shore were closer.
But of course I’d heard about it and remember those commercials quite well.
So, did any of you go to Action Park? Do you have stories to tell? Did you have any parks like that while you were growing up?
Or, are you watching that thinking — no way, that’s impossible?
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About Elizabeth Burns
Looking for a place to talk about young adult books? Pull up a chair, have a cup of tea, and let's chat. I am a New Jersey librarian. My opinions do not reflect those of my employer, SLJ, YALSA, or anyone else. On Twitter I'm @LizB; my email is lizzy.burns@gmail.com.
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