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I am almost 35 years old, and I can honestly tell you that nothing in my life had prepared me for the overwhelming joy I felt when, last year, I became a father. But even that could not prepare me for the overwhelming joy I felt when, last week, I rode the Mega Rocket Supercoaster at Six Flags New England.
I have finally found a purpose in life, and it is to ride this roller coaster over and over again.
Seeing that gleaming, towering steel monstrosity as you wait in the Mega Rocket's line is like looking into the eyes of the most beautiful child in the world, your child, as he relishes that purest, rawest of mornings: the beginning of life. Only much better than that. And as for the pleasure of sitting down and strapping yourself into the magnificent thing? Imagine holding the same innocent infant in your arms for the very first time. Multiply that feeling by three. Now we are getting closer to the essence of this roller coaster, but analogy can never do the experience justice.
While the excitement of fatherhood lasts only a few fleeting seconds before reality sets in again, the excitement of the Mega Rocket lasts almost three minutes. And you only have to wait in line for a couple of hours in order to do it again. With fatherhood it takes months.
I am no man of steel. I had plenty of fears and doubts about becoming a father, and it took me a long time to work up the courage to finally go through with it. But it took me far longer - several hours at least - to work up the courage to finally ride the Mega Rocket. And yet, despite all the uncertainty, despite all the psychological pain it caused, I couldn't have been happier with either decision. Well, the only way I could have been happier with the father decision would be if it had somehow also involved the Mega Rocket Supercoaster.
You could say that from the moment my wife and I were married, I had been waiting to become a father. If that is true, then I have been waiting to ride this roller coaster since the moment I was born. Oh, the satisfaction, the cosmic fulfillment I felt as I plummeted 235 feet to the ground at almost 90 miles an hour! That final union of roller coaster and man felt predestined, like the culmination of a plan set in place before either of us came into existence.
Life is about priorities. Sometimes it is necessary to set some things aside in order to focus on what is truly worthwhile. I have experienced this firsthand: first when I decided to give up drinking in order to be a more responsible father to my son, and then when I decided to leave my son at the food court with my wife in order to go and get drunk enough to ride the awesome roller coaster.
You need to pursue the things you care about without hesitation. Did I let my parents convince me that I shouldn't have a kid because I was "definitely not ready to be a father"? No. Did I let my wife convince me not to ride the roller coaster because my son was "crying and needs to go home"? Absolutely not.
In this roller coaster is hope. Hope for all of the opportunities I missed, all the accomplishments that remained out of reach, at least in my lifetime. I was never a successful businessman, but already this roller coaster makes thousands of dollars a day. I was never an athlete, but already this roller coaster is taller and stronger than I ever was.
I have accomplished at least one worthwhile thing in life, though. I have ridden the Mega Rocket Supercoaster. I can only hope that this roller coaster I have ridden will one day ride a roller coaster of its own, and just maybe feel some of the same achingly powerful joy that I feel now.
