Adventures On The Amazing Carousel

By David Fernandez

Among the many carnival rides in a traveling amusement company is an aging carousel, which is operated by a unique man named Oscar. At one of the most popular stopping locations, Oscar has invited a number of frequent riders to come to ride his carousel at a specific time on a specific day.

When all of the riders meet at the carousel, they are allowed by Oscar to mount their favorite animal. When Oscar comes around to collect their ride tickets, he acknowledges each rider and makes a comment about the amazing adventure they are about to experience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9798891570405

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Adventures On The Amazing Carousel

David Fernandez

Copyright © 2024 David Fernandez

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2024

ISBN 979-8-89157-025-2 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-89157-040-5 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Oscar: The Operator

Diablo: The Knight Horse

Girl: The Brown Horse

El Oro: The Golden Unicorn

Orion: The Stationary Bench

Zitro: The Seahorse

Chelsey: The Circus Horse

Cotton: The Brown Bunny

Tornado: The Race Pony

Buck-a-Roo: The Rodeo Horse

Max: The Reindeer

Big Paws: The Tiger

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Introduction

Have you ever watched a carousel travel in a counterclockwise circle on its track while music from the old calliope or a band organ plays a magical tune? Do you recall your own childhood rides on anyone of the colorful figures and pretended to be a cowboy or a circus performer or an animal tamer or a horse racing jockey?

Well, a few people from a horse-breeding region in the Midwest were about to have the experience of their lives.

Those lucky few, whose destiny would bring them to ride the carousel on this particular day, were people who had been coming to ride it every year for many years. They were the truly faithful ones who loved this ride.

The operator knew that his carousel was getting older, and he feared that this season might be the last one for this old ride. Through some magical power, he summoned eleven of his favorite riders to come and enjoy a special five-minute ride, which would carry each one of them into a very special adventure.

Oscar: The Operator

The Operator

In a dark early morning, a caravan of five large semitrucks rumbled off the highway onto a small road leading into a country town, which had its own horse racing track. Leading this caravan of trucks was a long bus carrying the families of the semitruck drivers. The bus driver was Mr. Ron Preston, the owner of this traveling amusement company.

On the side of each truck, the words Preston Amusement Company were painted in large block lettering. These trucks were loaded with all the parts and motors needed to set up and run the amusement rides.

This would typically be the most important stop of the season for this amusement company and all of its employees. It was Kentucky Derby weekend, and many folks from out of town would bring their families to watch the local horse racing events. When the races were over for the day, they would fill the amusement park to play the games for prizes and to ride the numerous rides.

One particular truck was driven by an old man named Oscar. Oscar was the first employee Mr. Preston had hired when he purchased the old amusement company. Because Oscar was the oldest employee in the company, Mr. Preston was beginning to worry that Oscar might be getting too old to work on any of the rides. However, Mr. Preston had a feeling that there was something special about this old man, so he could not let him go. There was just something special that was going to happen with Oscar and the carousel, and Mr. Preston felt it.

Oscar was not only a truck driver, but he was also the operator of the carousel, and he was responsible for its setup and teardown, maintenance of its motor, and operation of the musical calliope. He loved his job, and it showed by how well he took care of each animal figure. He kept them all beautifully cleaned and polished, and he seemed to have a magical connection to each one.

The other truck drivers and their families worked the other rides, games, and concessions. Oscar only worked the carousel, and he worked it alone.

The carousel was the oldest ride featured in the Preston Amusement Company. It was always the center of attraction among all the rides because of its loud calliope music, which was created by the air being pushed through the organ pipes. The sound would carry through the air and summon riders of all ages to come and ride on its animal characters.

The musical organ and the carousel motor were located at the center of the circulating track on which all of the different animals were mounted. The calliope was usually hidden behind several colorful panels, which were brightly painted and usually had mirrors hanging on each one. One of the panels was hinged along one side so that Oscar could gain access to the calliope whenever something went wrong with the music or when there was a problem with the carousel motor.

This carousel was covered by a large canopy over the top, which came to a point at the center. The panels of the canopy were painted in red and white, alternating colors with gold trim. There were several rows of small lights along its edges and seams. At night, these light bulbs would bring the carousel to life and make the colorful animals even more beautiful than they appeared in daylight.

The majority of animal figures on this beautiful attraction were horses, but on this carousel, you would find a seahorse, a tiger, a bunny, and even a reindeer, and no matter what animals were there, you would always find the colorful stationary bench.

Sometimes, Oscar would choose to ride the bench, just like many of the older generation of people who might not be comfortable riding an animal figure. This experience on the stationary bench was fun for him as he would recall memories of his childhood.

Oscar kept each animal and saddle painted with very heavy enamel paint, which brought the figures to life. The saddles were very colorful and decorated with shiny buttons and ribbons. Oscar would carefully mount each animal of its brass pole, which would carry the animals up and down as they moved around the circular track. A few animals were sometimes too large to mount on the poles, so Oscar would mount them on the track as stationary figures.

Oscar loved to watch the people waiting in line for the next ride as they focused on their favorite animal. He could see how anxious they were that no one else would pick their animal figure before they could get to it. It was funny how these people seem to claim each animal as their own.

This year, at this track, the old man had conjured up one special ride for a very special group of faithful carousel riders. By some magical power, he was here to gather this group of selected riders to take this one special ride of their lives.

Like Oscar, the carousel was starting to show its age, and Mr. Ron Preston, the owner of the amusement park, had wanted to discontinue using this ride. Mr. Preston was a very good man, and he felt bad when he told Oscar that this could be the last year for the old carousel.

Oscar did not argue the bad news. As Mr. Preston began to walk away, Oscar called out to him. He invited Mr. Preston to be sure to bring his young daughter to the carousel for one last ride. Bring her around 5:30 p.m. There will be ten or more other regular riders to join in on the ride.

Oscar was confident that all eleven of the specially selected riders would gather at the carousel at the very same time for the very same five-minute ride.

The adventures of a lifetime awaited these selected few.

Diablo: The Knight Horse

The Knight Horse

Gilbert was a twelve-year-old boy who loved horses. Many of the kids in his age group lived on horse ranches, but he was not as fortunate. His friends would complain about the duties of caring for the livestock on their ranches, especially the horses. Gilbert could only wish that he could have such duties. The only claim to a horse he would ever have would come once a year when the carousel would come into town with the traveling amusement park for the annual derby festival.

Among the many rides included in the carnival was an old carousel. This carousel had many different animal figures, which would move up and down on brass poles that rose up from the wooden platform, which formed the track. Gilbert's favorite animal was of course the shiny black knight horse, which he named Diablo. It was the biggest and fiercest-looking of all the animal figures. Gilbert had ridden this special horse each year since he was six years old, and it was the only one he ever wanted to ride.

The derby festival was held each year during the same weekend as the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Lexington, Kentucky. Here, the top horse breeders would bring their best running horses to participate in the races.

The owner of the amusement company knew that this annual festival would bring in large crowds, including many children. Like any traveling carnival, the rides and games would be open for business long into the night. It was a great location to earn most of the funds he would need to pay for wages and expenses throughout the rest of the year.

As Gilbert and his parents were driving to the derby festival, he asked his mother and father if he could go to the amusement park at the racetrack by himself. He proclaimed that since he was twelve years old now, he was old enough to spend the day running around the amusement park with his friends.

His mother was the first to make a comment. She said that she thought that he was still too young to run around unescorted by a parent.

His father then said that he thought the boy was too young to run around with a pocket full of money and that he would probably spend it on all sorts of candy and other sugary snacks.

After a few moments of silence, the boy's mother said that if they allowed him to go to the amusement park, he would have to stay at the park until they came to collect him. She warned him to stay out of trouble but to have fun.

Gilbert promised that he would be careful while he was with his friends and that he would not spend his money on sweets. The real reason he wanted to be unescorted was that he wanted to ride the black steed at the old carousel. He thought that if he had told his parents of his desire, they might laugh and say that he was too old to be riding the carousel.

As they arrived at the festival, Gilbert was anxious to get out of the car and to get to the amusement park before his parents changed their minds. When they stepped out of the car, his father reached into his pocket and pulled out some money. He took fifteen dollars and gave the money to the boy. As he handed the money to his son, he told him to be sure to buy a cool lemonade drink and not to run around in the hot sun. Then he told him to go find his friends in the amusement park and to have fun. Gilbert and his parents set up a meeting time and place for dinner, and they all agreed to meet at 6:00 p.m.

Gilbert entered the amusement park, and he began looking for his friends. As he wondered around the park, he could hear the distant music coming from the calliope at the carousel. He kept walking along the path between the game booths, but he couldn't see the carousel itself. Finally, he ran into a couple of his friends.

The other boys wanted to ride the roller coaster and the Ferris wheel first. Then they wanted to play some games. They were not interested in riding the carousel. This disappointed Gilbert because it was all he could think about. For the first couple of hours, he gave in to his friends' wishes.

While the other boys were spending their money on the games, Gilbert came up with an excuse to break away. He told them that he was going to go get a cool drink. He told them that he would meet up with them later.

Just in case he might run into another friend, Gilbert went to the refreshment stand first, and he purchased a lemonade. Then he moved along slowly until he finally saw the carousel. He stood and watched as the animals circled around the track in a counterclockwise direction. There were many horses dressed in different costumes, just as he had remembered from years past. Then, there it was, his black horse moving up and down with no one on him. Gilbert thought it was because the other kids were afraid to ride this fearsome-looking animal.

The black horse figure was probably the largest of all the horses on the carousel, and he appeared to