“Fun is good.” —Dr. Seuss

When we were kids, the edge of the world was just beyond Wichita, Kansas. At least for me, it was. That was as far as any of us ever were able to venture as kids.

Our grandparents–Mom’s parents–and several aunts and uncles lived there. Mom spent her high school years there, and came to the farm after she married Dad, the result of a blind date.

Wichita was the big city, the big time and big fun. Visiting there from our farm was a treat beyond compare, and I would marvel at how my dad could leave our farm and drive all the way to our grandparent’s driveway there without a map. How did he do that? He was such a brilliant navigator.

Not far from their home in the neighborhood known as College Hill was the Wichita equivalent to Disneyland. Except that we really had no idea what Disneyland was. Oh, sure, Suzanne still jokes that Mom and Dad took her–and only her–to Disneyland, but I see through that now.

Joyland was an amusement park located at 2801 South Hillside. It opened in 1949 and closed in 2006. I took my boys there once shortly before it closed. They, too, have memories of Joyland, but not as rich and varied as mine.

For us, as farm kids, this off-the-farm fun was as good as it got.

When they closed, several of their rides were sold and given new life, including the ferris wheel. Its new home is just down the road from Suzanne and me in Minneapolis, Kansas.

You may recall from previous posts that Suzanne has a thing for ferris wheels. If she is anywhere near one, she will be sure to take a ride. She rode one in Scheel’s Store in Colorado Springs recently when she and her husband were traveling through there.

We had yet to take a spin on the old Joyland ferris wheel, so I told her we need to be sure to ride it during the Ottawa County fair last week.

And we did. Our husbands even went along.

It was a Joyand all it’s own. Reliving the memories and making new ones was priceless. And, it was fun. Plain, simple fun. Something most of us don’t allow ourselves enough of.

I found pictures of the dilapidated remains of Joyland online. It was heartbreaking, and I don’t recommend it, but if you have childhood memories of Joyland, and you want your heart broken too, feel free to find them in the auction company’s listing online.

I remember this walkbridge, it’s the only picture I could find that elicits a colorful and warm memory from Joyland.

Because the sisters of The Sister Lode can’t always be together to have fun, there are times we must soldier on without one of us. Gail was in Wichita celebrating her grandson’s birthday this weekend, so she was not here to enjoy the ferris wheel, or to be our teammate in another spelling bee.

The Salina Public Library hosted their first adult spelling bee last night. Suzanne and I, along with Jordan–my neighbor who has been on our team for the other bees, and my other neighbor Angie comprised our team. It was a bracketed tournament style bee with single elimination. I didn’t get any pictures this time and it didn’t take much to eliminate us.

Tell me, before you look it up, how do you spell the ice cream with the three flavor stripes of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry? All four of us were wrong.

But, the most important thing was that it was indeed fun. There was a friendly spirit of competition among the eleven teams: cheering, well-wishing and laughter. Just not sure if I will ever be able to eat neapolitan ice cream again.

I have been devouring books this summer, a favorite fun thing for me year round. One of my most recent was this:

It made me think and dig a little deeper into how much fun I may or may not be having. I have since determined it’s not enough.

I was in the car the other day with a friend and we drove past a cemetery. She asked me what I would like my tombstone to read, and without hesitation, I answered: She had fun.

We hope you are having enough fun in your life. If you’re not, get out there and find your own ferris wheel fun, or spelling bee fun, or whatever it might be. Life is meant to include fun, but it doesn’t often come knocking.

Price, Catherine. (2021). The Power of Fun. The Dial Press

Following is a montage of the Sisters of The Sister Lode having fun…

Now get out there and have some fun!