It was a sunny day in the beginning of June of 1999, and Trish and I hopped in my car

Transcription

1 Whirl Til You Hurl II By Jennifer Ellis It was a sunny day in the beginning of June of 1999, and Trish and I hopped in my car and went on an expedition to try to find a hammock. On our way to the mall, we spotted the Surf Pig, which was our favorite radio station s purple convertible Cadillac that they used in their promotions. We waved down the Surf Pig, and he pulled over in the mall parking lot. We were Comment: According to the internet, it was purple, and was a 1969 convertible. Ask J.E.? Incidentally, it seems to have caught fire in 1999 roast ham Deleted: pink excited to find out what we were going to win and raced out of our car. Chachi, the on-air personality who handled all the grunt work for the morning show, came up to me and asked if I would like to participate in the Whirl Til You Hurl II roller coaster marathon with a chance to win $50,000. I said, I don t really like roller coasters, but she does, as I pointed at Trish. He told us that he was supposed to only play the game with the person who was driving, but he would let Trish be a contestant so long as we said that she was driving, so of course we agreed. Since we had pulled into a fairly empty part of the parking lot, he told us to drive over in front of Comment: We tried to clarify the game playing that was not clear before. Deleted: her Deleted: play Claim Jumper restaurant where Trish would draw from three envelopes for a seat on the roller coaster contest, concert tickets, or some other random prize. Two years earlier, in the summer of 1997, Star FM had held the hugely popular Whirl Til You Hurl I. The Giant Dipper Roller Coaster, on which the contest was held, was an old-fashioned, rickety, wooden roller coaster at San Diego s Belmont Park, looking out over Mission Beach. In the first Whirl Til You Hurl, the prize was a new car. Trish, my sister Jessica, and I had all gone down several times to watch the festivities and concerts that were put on in conjunction with the contest and had a blast. After eleven days, and with three contestants still riding the coaster, Star called it quits and gave all three new cars.

2 When we got out of the car in front of Claim Jumper, Chachi got on air and started making fun of my car. I had a bad muffler, and he said he could hear it all the way down the block. None of his jokes were anything but the truth, which made it all the more hilarious. Chachi pulled out three envelopes. Being live radio, of course he made a huge production out of it. He asked Trish what she would do with $50,000, and she said that if she won, she was going to split it with me. Since she was driving my car at the time, I would stay down at the beach with her while she was on the roller coaster so I could get her what she needed clothes and food. Chachi told her to choose an envelope. One envelope held the chance to win $50,000. Trish asked me which Deleted:, Deleted: like a change of Deleted: He envelope I would choose; I said the one on the left, but she picked the one in the middle. Luckily, she didn t take my advice. The paper read, You have won a seat on the Whirl Til You Hurl II and a chance to win $50,000. We shrieked like little girls in the school yard, jumping up and down. We hugged Chachi and each other; we were so excited. We knew this was going to be an experience of a lifetime. Winning was not going to be a walk in the park, but with Trish s love of roller coasters, and youthful optimism on our side, we were confident she would win. The marathon started in only three weeks; we began plotting and strategizing immediately. After finding the hammock we had originally set out in search of, we decided we needed to find our motivation and went car shopping. Trish fell in love with the Eagle Talon. It was a hunter green, two-door with a sunroof. We figured that if she had something in mind that she would use the money for, she would be able to keep focused. Judging from the previous Whirl Til You Hurl, we expected it to last at least two weeks. The rules for the marathon were strenuous. Contestants rode from seven in the morning

3 till midnight with a ten minute bathroom break every three hours. Contestants had to sleep on the roller coaster at night with no blankets or pillows while it was parked in the station. There was only one thirty minute break in the morning before they started riding at seven o clock. They were given a bag to puke in, if necessary, and if any puke missed the bag, the hurler was eliminated. After pages of waivers and contest rules were signed, the day finally arrived for the whirling and hurling begin. New stipulations were made for Whirl Til You Hurl II that had not been considered for the first roller coaster contest. Star said they would not give away additional prizes. There would be only one winner, and if there was more than one whirler still left by Labor Day, two and a half months after the start of the contest, then the $50,000 would be split among the remaining contestants. No one imagined that it could possibly go that long; they really intended to have only one winner this time. The first day was loads of fun. They started with twenty-four people. A couple of people hurled within the first few hours. Another one couldn t stomach getting back on after the first ten minute break. Trish was doing great, and she was having fun. The woman sitting in the car with her was not doing so well, and Trish knew she wouldn t last the remainder of the day. It didn t take long for her prediction to unfold: the girl sitting next to her didn t manage to get it all in the bag. Trish was happy that she would be able to stretch out when it came time to shut down for the night. There was a section in front of the gates to the roller coaster that was taped off for the family and friends of the contestants. The radio station personalities came by and interviewed us every few hours. I set myself up with a sleeping bag, pillows, an ice chest, and a propane stove.

4 It was just like camping at the beach the sand was only twenty-five yards away. After one last mad dash to the restrooms for Trish, we went to sleep for the night. The next day, Trish found some new motivation for staying on the roller coaster. His name was Shane, a tall, dark, and handsome guy who worked for the Giant Dipper, operating the roller coaster. Since the woman next to Trish and several others were eliminated the first day, they opened up the empty seats to the families and friends of the contestants and to the public. I would take a ride or two with Trish to get the latest news on Shane and to find out what she wanted to eat. There were a few more people eliminated the second day because they hurled outside their barf bags. But after day two, only the strong stomachs remained. When the weekend was over, about twelve contestants were left. Everyone was given a nickname that the Dj s used on Deleted: they were down to Deleted: they the air to detail the events as they were unfolding; Trish s was Terminator Trish. A week into the contest, nine contestants were left, and Trish wanted to get off so bad. I Deleted: they were down to tried to convince her that she could do it. I told her I would ride with her the rest of the day. I rode with her for about four hours. We were having fun talking about Shane and a myriad of other topics, most of which had something or another to do with boys; time passed easily, and she was feeling a lot better. She got out of her slump with renewed strength. Plus, Shane would be there the next day. When I lay down to sleep that night, I could not stop moving. When I closed my eyes, it felt like I was spinning. At that point, I realized a body is not meant to ride a roller coaster for four hours, let alone a week. On the Fourth of July, Trish was still riding, and we got a special treat. There were four different fireworks displays within view at the top of the track. I was able to ride with her, and

5 they stopped the coaster to let us watch the fireworks from Sea World and the ones on the beach, as they were going off simultaneously. It was magnificent! On day fourteen of Whirl Til You Hurl II, with seven contestants were left. Trish had Deleted: they were left already made it past the mark of the previous marathon. Things were going well but had started to get boring. Everyone was wondering how long this was going to go on. Some whirlers had considered striking a deal with the others to split the money, but all were too greedy and didn t trust the others to live up to the bargain. Trish s last day started out like every other, the public was riding with the contestants. Trish was riding with a little girl. Since she had been riding so long, she knew which way to lean with the ride to avoid the jostling of the old wooden roller coaster. The only thing that held her in the coaster was a metal bar that could be pushed down only as far as the biggest person in the seat would allow. The little girl was screaming and scared that she was going to fall out. So, Trish put her arm in front of the little girl to hold her in. But, when the jolt came, Trish hurt her back. When the ride ended, she asked me for some Tylenol and tried to ride a few more times, Comment: Jolt was offered as a change to help clarify that an injury resulted from the coaster turn. holding out mostly for when Shane got there. Once he arrived, she decided her time was up; her back was hurting too much. She felt side effects for months. Thankfully, she got off when she did. No one imagined the contest would actually last till Labor Day, but it did. The story made the national news with five contestants left, eleven weeks after the contest began. They had to split the $50,000, each getting $12,000 and a trip for two to Hawaii, which a local travel agent tossed in for some free advertising. Even though she didn t win the $50,000, we had the

6 experience of a lifetime. Not only did we have fun, but Trish found the love of her life and her future. She and Shane now have two adorable children to show for it. Jennifer Ellis is originally from San Diego, California and moved to Arkansas in After taking what was supposed to have been a one semester break from school, she returned to college ten years later and has completed her second semester at UALR. During a recent family trip to Disney World, she discovered that she does indeed love roller coasters, in small doses.