Getting Over Hard Times, 2003

I was 8 and my grandmother had just died. My aunt, who lives 30 minutes away from the Boardwalk, took me and her daughter to the Boardwalk. She said it would help me forget. She was right. I remember so vividly that day. We were some of the first people to step in the park. They were still wiping the morning dew off of the rides. The first ride we went on was kind of like tea cups, I got really sick! My cousin asked the attendant to stop the ride, but I went right back on after taking a breather. Santa Cruz quickly became special to me, it will always be my favorite place in the world.