The Carousel of Dreams

It's very vague by now, but I'll never forget the first time I saw it. My parents stuffed us all in the back of my aunt's faithful old Ford Explorer, along with three of my cousins. Where were we going? I had no idea, nor did I care really. I seldom paid attention to such details at that age. We rode for what felt like hours to me before the car finally stopped... and when I stepped out of that giant white SUV, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven on the spot.

It was beautiful; the biggest, shiniest, prettiest merry-go-round I'd ever seen, sitting right in the middle of a huge, empty pasture. I remember the chilly December wind kissing my cheek as I ogled up at that great big wonderful thing. It smelled strongly of horses and cedar, the latter from the dense layer of wood chips spread out all around that beautiful behemoth. That horsey smell was so strong, for a moment I believed the carved wooden horses on it were real. It was the middle of the afternoon, but the bubble lights all over it glowed brightly, dazzling my eyes like hundreds of thousands of overgrown fireflies. All around it were more lights, hanging on strings woven all around the fence surrounding the field. They created a path right up to the carousel, ending in a big arch made of artificial greenery and wire shaped like a wreath.

What I remember most, however, was the music. Instead of the usual calliope music I'd heard from every other carousel, this one was blaring Christmas songs. Specifically, Alvin and the Chipmunks' seasonal hit. This was the most wonderful sight my young eyes had ever beheld. I couldn't wait to ride it until I dropped. I think my mom had to hold onto the hood of my coat, just so I wouldn't run off ahead of everyone else before my dad and uncle finished buying the tickets. Not that I blame her for it, of course; I had a bad habit of charging blindly into things, giving no thought or care to my or anyone else's safety.

I learned later that this amazing thing had been around for decades before I first rode it. The Valley, AL Christmas Merry-Go-Round was first built in 1956, back when my dad was a kid. As far as I know, they still kick the dust off it and power it up every Christmas in the Valley's rodeo arena, even to this day. I haven't ridden it in ages, though; not since I was in high school. Its magical hold over me was still quite strong back then... until I got on it, that is. Feeling that old thing creak and shudder under my chubby backside and the rust on the pole under my palm gave me the first inkling that maybe - possibly - I was suddenly too old to ride it anymore.

This is in no way a slight on the lovely people who run it every year, as it was meticulously maintained every time I got on it. seventy years is a long time, and those years are not always kind. No matter how much love, attention, and oil you lavish on a piece of machinery, problems - and rust - do happen eventually.

Even though the odds are incredibly slim that I will ever climb up on that big, beautiful, rickety antique again, it will always be a part of my soul. I think this year, it'd be nice to go visit it. Just one more time for posterity. Maybe if I breathe that horse-scented air, and feel those wood chips under my sneakers, I'll find that starry-eyed, headstrong, reckless little girl again. Maybe those same old Christmas songs will still be playing, and the lights will be just as bright and dazzling.

As long as I live, I'll never forget that carousel. It's an invaluable part of my childhood, as well as the childhoods of countless others in West Georgia and East Alabama. God willing, it will continue to be so for many, many generations yet to come.