Moments for New Memories

100th Celebration of Santa Monica Pier: Moments for New Memories

What a treat to read the new Santa Monica Pier History book! Reading it makes you feel a deep appreciation for the stories people have shared. And thankfulness to those who have kept the pier and its fun there over all these years! The images and words tell of experiences and memories folks have for this "people's place" told so vividly, you feel you have stepped right into years past. The book's words and images are an invitation for every reader to create their own treasured moments on the pier today. Those moments will become memories of pier history into the future.

So it was that on a very recent Sunday in February 2009, treasured moments at the pier were created that will live vividly into the future.

A Dad enthusiastically brought his two children and his parents (their Granny and Poppo) to the pier for a day of fun before he was off to his work. The grandparents and grandchildren walked hand-in-hand onto the pier with fun in mind - fun riding rides, fun lunching on burritos and beverages together, fun checking out the games with hopes of prizes and then fun having the day topped off with salt water taffy, kettle corn and COTTON CANDY!

The Dad, ever so gently, placed all-day full-ride wristbands on his children's arms. His kindness in this gesture was so genuine. He spoke softly with each child as he made sure the wristbands were just right, adjusting the bands with care so as not to be too tight nor too loose. As he prepared them for the day, his gentleness, beaming smile and words to them felt like a reverent, quiet prelude to the full, high-decibel feelings of fun to follow riding Pacific Park rides! His voice gave assurances to his children that they were in for a treat to be enjoyed! It was a precious moment between the Dad and two children.

His mother, the Granny, especially treasured watching her son at that moment. She knew the connection between this father to his children was familiar evidence of this Dad's own history as totally a "people person" - always enthusiastic in inviting and including others in what he knew to be fun, always taking great care and enjoying the anticipation and preparation for fun, always hoping fun would be terrific, always setting forth to have fun with the smiles and confidence. She knew this had always been his way from childhood onward. She silently celebrated the moment of seeing him this way now. That was the first treasured moment of this day at the pier.

That wristband moment signaled good times were about to begin- just as good times have happened on the pier for 100 years. And there's every reason to believe that on down the road of time, those two precious children, in their turn as adults, will replicate the ritual of placing whatever is the equivalent of today's wristband on a child to signal, "Your ticket for terrific fun is in place - I love you - now, off we go!"

The two children set off with their Granny and Poppo. They made their own rhythm of footsteps traipsing along the wide boards of the pier to each and every child ride - the frog hopper, the yellow submarine, ship, jeep ride - carrying with them that magical combination of assured confidence mixed with a smidge of anxiety: confidence knowing the rides were fun and anxiousness anticipating having the rides take them to far edges of excitement. They were beaming with big smiles when they returned to their grandparent's side at ride's end, fully ready to go again!

Having conquered all the child rides, the question came of what do with the adult rides? The children did not entertain the roller coaster or the giant dragon boat as options for even a moment. But, the Ferris wheel - yes, that was one to think about doing. Initially the intrepid Pacific Park traveling squad foursome got in the Ferris wheel line together - Poppo, Granny, grandson and granddaughter. While in line, they kept looking up at the wheel from the ground. But halfway to loading, as they made their way along the maze, the granddaughter's gaze upward caused her to grasp the magnitude of Ferris wheel height. Without equivocation, she made a decision. With her already infamous fearless-but-not-foolish three-year-old knowledge of her own limits, she bowed out, stating calmly and confidently, "That's tooooo-oooo scary!" She was happy to take respite seated beside her Poppo on a bench directly beneath the big wheel where she could watch her brother and Granny go round.

The brother, a self-assured 5 years old, and his Granny waited in anticipation for their turn. As they waited, the Granny told her grandson the true tale that not only had she never ridden this Ferris wheel, she, in fact, had NEVER EVER ridden ANY Ferris wheel in all her 62 years! She repeatedly thanked him for going on the Ferris wheel ride today. It was a ride, she told him, she had always, ALWAYS wanted to do and a ride she was SOOOOO happy to be doing with him! This sunny February 2009 day in Santa Monica held the moment of a first to be forever remembered!

As their wait continued, the Granny and grandson began to pass the time by speculating on what color their cab would be - a fun game of prediction where every color could be the winner! Their accelerating anticipation to find out which color cab would be theirs matched their accelerating excitement of going on the ride! Then, it was time. A cab emptied and the brave pair was signaled to get on board.

Now the Granny was thinking that they could sit side-by-side so if he (or she) felt overwhelmed, hugs of re-assurance could be easily given. When she offered her grandson a seat beside her, he thought for a moment scanning the enclosed cab. As though re-calculating the cab size and motion he had been observing from the ground, he confidently determined and stated they should sit opposite from one another to "keep it balanced". The grandson sat facing the shore, the Granny facing the sea and sky.

The Ferris wheel took their cab on its first crescendo ride up and, upon arrival at the top, there was an exquisite moment of shared wide-eyed wonder exchanged between the Granny and Grandson! Simultaneously, they both held their breath in awe! Their grounding to earth was left below! The moment was fantastically filled with emotions of being on an adventure in an almost unbelievable place, generating a reaction of living wholly in a wonderfully wild place suspended in the free space of air, a reaction of not even being seated on the seat, in the cab, on this wheel! As the Granny mustered the single word, "Whoa!" the grandson smiled supremely and declared, "Now THAT"S romantic!" This five year old knew a wonderful use of the word romantic in a sense much like the romantic composers of the 19th century era had in creating incredible symphonies! This five year old atop the Santa Monica Ferris wheel had summoned his wise soul to describe the experience in the ways known in the music by Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Beethoven!

The Ferris wheel continued its revolutions taking the grandson and Granny on repeated ascents to the top including several swaying stops at the highest point - but no arrival at the top was as spectacular as that first one! Throughout the ride, they could see the younger sister watching below, waving each time the cab carrying her Granny and brother came into view. Someday, she too will have her first Ferris wheel ride to add to her history of pier experiences.

As the cab came to a stop at ride's end, the Granny and grandson stepped out onto the solid ground with promises to one another that they'd do this again! Speculating that maybe their next ride could be in the evening with all the lights of the pier and stars of night sparkling like magic!

The historic moments of the February 2009 Ferris wheel ride at the pier would, indeed, be re-visited. And, in the Granny's heart, she grabbed hope that there would be a day into the future when her grandson would be taking a grandchild for just such a ride as they had today - then, he would know, for himself in his own way, what a special moment that can be for a grandparent with a grandchild. So it is that the Granny's 100th Celebration wish is for the pier and Ferris wheel to be there for generations to come just as it is there now and has been there for generations in the past. It is a wish given in thankfulness for having memories on that February day that can return in the future.