My family and I just returned from a vacation. An honest to goodness vacation, complete with theme parks and fireworks and swimming pools. We took in our fair share of rollercoasters and other rides and it got me thinking about thrills. Speed, heights and danger combined in such a way to fool our minds and bodies that something could happen that we don't really want to happen. I used to go on the occasional rollercoaster and my jaw would clamp shut and my hands would clamp tightly onto anything within reach. Then I learned that if I screamed, it would help ease the panic (and I was always frightened of vomiting through my clenched teeth). Unfortunately, my screaming was just a steady stream of swear words. Now, I am usually riding a rollercoaster with one of my children and the swearing would be frowned upon. So now, I just laugh and scream in a regular G-rated way.

Another part of our vacation was going to a dinner theatre at this horse show coliseum. It involved a story told through horse riding tricks and a princess and a genie. It was okay. The kids liked it. One part, though, was about the Native Americans spiritual bond with the horse. A beautiful women came out on a painted stallion and did some riding tricks to some song that featured Navaho chanting (I think). At one part of this particular performance, the rider let the horse run full tilt around the coliseum. I mean full tilt. And that  was beautiful. That  was thrilling! The same feeling hit me in the chest that hit me when I was on Space Mountain or Thunder Mountain. Watching that beautiful animal fly! What a thrill! I wanted it to keep running and running and running. I wonder what it must have felt like to be on that ride.