Favorite Places In The World – #RP002: Playland aka Rye Playland
aka Playland Amusement Park aka the Inner-city kid’s Disney. Rye, New York. (est. 1928).
- The #dragoncoaster!!!!
My EPIC Reenactments (mostly in my head…MOSTLY) of Mariah Carey’s Fantasy video over and over. Think flirty hand motions, and soft flowing curls.
- The house of mirrors and pretending I didn’t just walk into my reflection.
- Funnel Cakes.
- My Gawd. The sheer sticky finger magic of funnel cakes!
- Did I mention the…
- Going to the beach! (and watching my aunt slather on baby oil as sunscreen (Ah! Simpler times…)
Playland taught me to be brave.
My mother never got on rides, and was sure that she passed on her irrational fears (well, perhaps somewhat rational seeing as there actually are bad things that happen at theme parks…especially small ones). But nope, I was not scared of the Dragon or the big Spider or MindScrambler. Maybe a little at first, but there was something exhilarating about pushing past your fears.
My Playland experiences are something I keep with me whenever I feel fear stopping me from speaking up or doing something like stand in front of a crowd of people to read my writing. I have come to realize that fear is not a bad thing. What is a bad thing is what each person does with those fears. The bad is in the actions that lead to horrible new stories and protestable actions.That is not to say I have conquered all of my own fears. Not by any measure of Tim Burtons imagination.
I know that I eventually will have to battle all of my Monsters. 
Roberto F. Santiago 