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This is the third chapter of a six part series.

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“I don’t know which is a bigger shock, living in the middle of Dallas – Fort Worth or the alternate reality that Six Flags is.  It’s like a made up world based on historical fact, but nothing is really as it seems.”  Kelly was exhausted after his first day of working on the Happy Motoring ride at the theme park.

He and Toby, his cousin, were headed over to The Bull Pen to grab a couple burgers after work.  Toby had tried to check on his cousin a couple times throughout the day, but always found him busy getting people in and out of the cars that made up the Happy Motoring ride.  The kid seemed to be doing a good job.  He knew he wouldn’t have any regrets getting him hired.  Everyone in his family was good, hardworking stock.

“It didn’t take you long to get the hang of those little cars, did it?” Toby asked.

“It’s going to take longer getting used to some of the girls, or women I should say, and what they wear, or don’t wear.”  Kelly seemed excited about all his new job had to offer.  “You were right.  Some of those women seem to just be begging you to look down their halter tops.  I almost plowed one of the cars right into the one in front of it the first time it happened.”

Toby laughed.  By the time they slid into the booth at the Bull Pen and ordered Kelly felt comfortable enough to bring up the incident in the employee dressing room.  “What’s up with the dancers at the Crazy Horse Saloon?  They seem pretty forward.  I mean, not that I mind, but dang!”

Toby laughed.  You’ve probably seen Darlene.  She doesn’t leave anything to the imagination.  Be careful.  I know she’s done the entire crew of La Salle’s River Ride.  She proved to be a bigger adventure than the ride itself!”  Kelly had no idea just what to make of that comment.  “She’s something else.”

The two of them talked about the best place to grab something to eat in the park, the discount on food, souvenirs, and merchandise and other details they hadn’t had a chance to visit about earlier.  “We’ll ride in together when we can,” Toby noted.  “But we’ll get you a sticker for your windshield for whenever we can’t.  Sometimes I have meetings after my shift.  Or even a date, now and again.”

By the end of his first week Kelly felt like a Happy Motoring pro.  He’d even learned how to flirt with the girls getting in and out of the fiberglass “sports cars”.  They seemed to love it and it did something for Kelly’s ego that the uniform didn’t.  On Thursday he’d driven his own car, the ’53 Sunliner, to work.  Toby had a staff meeting after work.  Kelly wanted to experience the park as a customer rather than an employee.

He’d parked next to a brand new 1963 Chevy II Nova SS convertible when he pulled into the lot.  The girl that got out of the car was the most gorgeous thing Kelly had ever laid eyes on.  She had skin that was as smooth and tanned as a model, hair that was somehow a mix of blonde, red, and light brown all at once.  Her blouse was unbuttoned one or more two than it would have been if she was a Fort Stockton girl.

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When she got out of the Nova she stood taller than he expected.  She glanced up at him and smiled.  He followed her to the gate where employees entered and past security who didn’t even glance at her badge, but looked carefully at his.  He followed close behind her till she turned and headed to the Southern Palace and he turned the opposite direction to pick up his uniform and change into it for his shift.  He missed Crazy Horse Darlene changing into her tiny showgirl outfit.

Kelly happened to see his cousin at the employee canteen at his lunch break.  Toby sat down next to him with a cold Dr. Pepper.  “How’s it hangin’?”  Kelly wasn’t used to some of the outlandish big city slang his cousin used.

“Good. I guess.”  Kelly took a couple bites out of his hot dog.  “What do you know about the girl who drives the new Nova SS convertible?”

Toby stopped eating and looked up.  Then he smiled and cocked his head a little while he looked at his cousin.  “Mindy McKinney?  It didn’t take you long to find her, did it?”  He chuckled to himself.

“Mindy is one of the star performers at the Southern Palace.  Been here since the park opened.  She gets a new convertible every year.”  Toby seemed to know everything there was to know about the girl.  “Her daddy is a big wig at the GM plant just down the road.  Not exactly sure what he does, but he’s way up there.  That’s how she gets a brand new car every year.”

Kelly was taking in all the information while he played with his fries.

“As good looking as she is, her best feature is her voice.  That’s what makes her a star.  She can belt out a tune like nobody’s business.  Folks speculate she may head for Hollywood someday.  She’s that talented.”  Toby looked at his cousin seriously.  “You’re not thinking about going after that little Philly, are you?  You may want to give Crazy Horse Darlene a romp instead.  Mindy McKinney is out of your league.  She’s out of everyone’s league.”

The two of them finished their lunch discussing less important matters.  Kelly finished his Happy Motoring shift, changed into his street clothes and headed to the Southern Palace for the last show of the evening.

A production by the drama class of Jim Bowie High being the only live show he’d ever seen, Kelly was overwhelmed by the production value of the Southern Palace show.  The cast were all young, good looking, talented, and well rehearsed.  The show was a musical, of course, sort of a Gone With the Wind meets Hello Dolly!  

Mindy McKinney was obviously the star in a character that included all the best elements of Scarlet O’Hara and Dolly.  Dressed in a huge hoop skirt of aqua and burgundy over what seemed to be acres of white ruffles underneath, she was spun around the stage by a tall blond haired male counterpart with chiseled features and perfect teeth.  The entire cast, in fact, seemed to be cut from the same good looking cloth with well coiffed hair, fit physiques, and permanent smiles.  That is, all but one single black guy near the back of most of the numbers.  He seemed to have as much talent as the others, but was kept mainly on the periphery, certainly never dancing with a white partner.  It was 1963, after all.

Mindy seemed to carry the entire show, singing My Heart Burns Like Atlanta and Meet Me at Appomattox with little accompaniment.  Background singers sang the chorus as she and the good looking blond guy performed the duet, I’ll Be Your Sandra Dee If You’ll Be My Robert E. Lee.  The crowd went crazy by the end of the show when Mindy was hoisted on the shoulder of the male star of the show and belted out, Butter My Biscuit, but Bury Me in Dixie.  

One at a time as she sang the final chorus, a cast member would walk under the star, tear off one of her petticoats and take their place on the stage.  When she hit the final high note, each cast member held up a petticoat and turned it around to reveal a giant letter.  Seen all together at the conclusion of the song, her undergarments spelled out ‘SIX FLAGS OVER TEXAS’.  As the curtain came down to thunderous applause, Mindy would stare down into the eyes of the Confederate soldier whose shoulder she had been foisted on and they would look longingly into each other’s eyes as the curtain fell.

Kelly had never seen anything like it.  He stood at the back of the Southern Palace theater and waited for the crowd to disperse. When everyone else had left the theater, Kelly walked out the front doors and went around to the side exit where all the cast members would be departing soon.  Kelly tried to look like he was there for a reason, nodding to cast members as they departed and headed out towards the employee parking lot.

Mindy McKinney and the lone black actor exited the door together and looked surprised to see Kelly standing there.  He tried to act nonchalant, as though their meeting was by accident.  “Oh, fancy seeing you here again.  Aren’t we parked next to each other?”  Mindy’s fellow crew member went on ahead.  Mindy tried to remember if she’d ever seen Kelly before and then graciously said, “I suppose we are.”

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The two of them made their way awkwardly through the park to the employee entrance and past the security guard.  He tipped his hat at Mindy, ignored Kelly, and watched the two of them make their way to the two convertibles in the employee parking lot.  “Maybe we can grab a Dr. Pepper sometime,” Kelly said.

Mindy was startled and not sure exactly how to respond to her new admirer.  “Maybe so,” she said.  She couldn’t have been any more noncommittal.  Yet, Kelly took her response as a sign of willingness to continue the conversation at a later date.  And with that, Mindy got into the  Azure Aqua ragtop, put the key in the ignition, and cranked up the 194ci Hi-Thrift inline-six.  She slid the two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission into gear and disappeared into the darkness.  Kelly watched the two small square taillights disappear before walking to his Sunliner for the short trip to his aunt and uncle’s house.

All of a sudden, he was a fan of the arts.

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