self deprecating humor

   

          well it seems as if get the most response when talking about the animals and when they get the best of me . it is easy to make fun of situations and one i got into years ago happened in mother goose land just off i-77 at thee tuscarawas st. exit in canton .it was just across the nimisila creek as it runs parallel south along i-77. they had a petting zoo and storybook characters from the tales of mother goose. they also had a fiberglass whale and the place still exists but has been grown over and is ramshackle, the last i looked. 

       they had a jet and i would say it was from the korean war era and it was used as a slide as the jet engines were pulled out and you could slide through the wings and look in the cockpit through the clouded canopy. my brother and i were a little old for all the fairy tale stuff and the petting zoo, but had to go along with things as we had just went to church and ate dinner with grandma aand grandpa , and my sister sherry wanted to go to mother goose land . anyhow it wasn't our choice but we still found something to mess with. we both wanted to get into the cockpit of this thing ad we kept trying to dislodge the canopy to open the cockpit. we got the top to wiggle and then we had a crack and both of us managed to work our fingers under the lip of the canopy and picked it up and slid it open. we were happy having accomplished the feat. 

     the heat blasted out as the jet sat in direct sun and built up pretty good heat in the cockpit and a smell of mustiness wafted up out of the cockpit. my brother jumped in and messed around with it flipping switches pulling and prodding as i leaned over top of him checking it out myself. this was amazing stuff imagining what it was like to pilot this jet up in the sky and it looked so heavy as it would have to go fast or it would never go anywhere. soon it was my turn and i slipped into the pilot's seat and took a hold of the joystick and would maneuver the rudder while pushing on the pedals on the floor as you would push one in and other would come out. i was sitting there trying to figure all the dials and gadgets out when my brother slides the cockpit door closed over my head . i told him not to close it but by the time i had said that he had me closed in and instantly it started getting hot. i tried to open the canopy and it wouldn't open . i told my brother this wasn't funny and instantly he starts laughing , and i thought he was holding it closed but he wasn't . 

   we wrestled with it for about 5 minutes and by now i am sweating buckets inside this thing. i yelled for him to go grab grandpa and get some help. he said to be quiet, we would just get in trouble . at this point i couldn't think of any more trouble i could be in as i felt like i was slow cooking. then we began to attract attention as another group of park visitors were alerted at my brother shouting at what they thought was an empty jet. well looking at strangers faces through the canopy of a jet while slow cooking is an experience i would rather forget. 

      then some genius says hey look there is the handle for the ejection seat pull it and see what happens. well my thought about that it all works good in theory but in practicality it probably sucks as it designed to work in the air when plummeting to the earth and the canopy goes one way and you the other . here i am sitting over an explosive charge hopefully removed and if not will blast the seat and me through the canopy. which is closed and locked now . not a smart move and  further complicating things for my brother. and as for me im sure the last thing to go through my mind in this event would be my butt. just didn't think pulling this handle was a good idea,  when i refused to pull the handle they tried to wedge a pen knife into the canopy as by then  there was a generous crowd of about 20 people there on both sides of the jet looking at stupid boy , who got stuck in jet. and grandpa and grandma were no where to be found. 

       i remembered we used that lifting and pushing motion to unlock it the first time , and when they got it up i yelled to push and it slid open and people cheered and i emerged . i was soaking wet but rlieved to be out in now cool fresh air , someone muttered they ought to lock that thing , somebody could get hurt. and i just looked at them. people were asking where our parents were and my brother and i just took off.   we went around the corner and there was grandpa and grandma as they working there way towards us and wondered what the crowd had gathered around the plane for. we just shrugged our shoulders and didnt say anything. the plane is gone , but the memories linger as life moves on.