While operating the gun turret from the rear of a P-51D Mustang, this makeshift Air Force pilot sprayed bullets across the wings of a German bomber before it plunged into the English Channel.
Swaying back and forth at the imaginary controls, I was pretending to attack the Nazis during the Battle of Britain as my Uncle Carl and I circled the globe in our American jet fighter.
We were enjoying the euphoria of the Aircraft Carrier plane ride at “Fantasy Island” theme park in Grand Island, N.Y. while spending the week at my paternal grandparents house in the Empire State.
Joined by our cousins Pam and Freddie as well as my father’s younger brother, I was all smiles when everyone piled into the family station wagon for the short trek across the Niagara River to the entertainment venue.
When the four cousins stumbled upon the Ferris wheel towering above the 12-acre amusement park, we all agreed to make the large skeletal object our first ride of the day.
However, nine-year-old Pam was the only one tall enough to take the exciting ride for a spin; so while she went high above the midway with my father, my two counterparts and I were directed to the nearby airplane ride.
As we reached the hangar area, I squealed with glee as my uncle tossed me into the air before stepping into a green camouflage fighter plane while the cousins crawled into a German bomber.
After everyone finished their respective rides, our family made their way around the park enjoying many of the other attractions, including the tea cups, the giant slide and the bumper cars.
When the four cousins met up at the end of their amusement rides, we cackled like a bunch of clucking hens telling one another our favorite part of the attractions.
At high noon, we followed the adults to the picnic table pavilion to eat cold cuts, potato chips and an array of goodies that Grandma Price packed for our lunch.
At the conclusion of the filling meal as the family exited the open air shelter, the minister challenged his brother to one of the many carnival games on the midway.
When we came upon the basketball game with the attendant calling on perspective contestants with a bullhorn, Dad decided to give the hoops competition a whirl to see if he could shoot three in a row to win a prize.
The tall lanky young man bounced the ball off the ground a couple times before taking aim. After lifting the ball into the air, he let go watching it sail directly into the hoop.
Swoosh! Nothing but net.
After making the second basket in a row, the attendant began to make jeers at the avid basketball player in hopes he would make him lose his concentration and miss the last shot.
Blocking out the ridicule while lining up the target, Dad released the ball as it sailed toward the intended target. After hitting the backboard, it bounced around the rim before going into the hoop.
And the crowd goes wild.
After the blond-haired minister of the cloth collected his well-deserved prize, he engaged his brother in a little smack talk about finding a game easy enough for him to score a victory.
As the cousins led the jovial bunch past several more exhibits, Uncle Carl stopped in front of the milk jug game and decided to test his skills at knocking down the pyramid of six wooden milk bottles.
After hitting the mark with the first two attempts, the 21-year-old only had two more bottles to knock over.
Pausing to deliberate his options, the young man drew in a deep breath before throwing a curve ball in hopes of knocking over both targets. Unfortunately, one lone milk bottle was left standing at the end of his turn.
While rubbing salt into the wound of his brother’s disappointing loss, the Price clan just made it in the nick of time to watch the bank robbery on Main Street before the shootout began at the Wild West Show.
One of the deputies, positioned on the roof of the saloon on the opposite side of the street, picked off the getaway gunman holding onto the reins of his cohorts horses, which got spooked and took off racing down the middle of the street.
After the Sheriff nabbed the first three robbers with his lasso trickery, the fourth one fell backwards into the horse watering trough thereby saving the day and the town.
When the family left the western shootout, we stopped at one of the many vendors spread throughout the expo so the youngsters could spend some of the money burning a hole in our pockets.
While all the boys bought a fat cone of pink cotton candy, Pam chose to purchase a large soft salted pretzel with a side of warm cheese dip.
As time ticked away on our fun-filled day, we chose the carousel as the last ride for the annual trek to the park which closed out the eventful day.
After boarding the large circular object with many twinkling lights, the kids all claimed our own horses on the merry-go-round.
While Mom and Dad sat on one of the many benches on board, Uncle Carl joined his niece and nephews on a nearby horse to join in on the fun.
Everyone had a grand old time as the platform began to turn with music playing from a loudspeaker in the center.
With the wind blowing through our hair, my cohorts and I all squealed as the beasts upon which we sat moved up and down giving us all one last thrill before leaving the park.
As we headed toward the parking lot thinking about a late supper, I had one more exciting adventure high atop my uncle’s shoulders as we bounced along all the way to the car.