No children were harmed in this post.

Lest I depress anyone, I think it might be time to update that somewhat downbeat post I made last Monday night. Even though I have still heard no updates on the poor girl's condition (somehow I thought that the power of the blogosphere would come through there, and someone would post a dispatch from Coney Island Hospital. Alas, not so far...), I'll move on.

The horrifying incident did put a damper on what was otherwise a very fun-filled day at Coney, which started with a viewing of everyone's favorite gender-bending politicos, Circus Amok:















They danced on platforms:













They flew through the air:
























And they marched around in pink tutus while paying homage to Latin American leftist political leaders:
















What more could an audience ask for? (Answer: Nuttin' Especially because it was free.)

Following this fine performance, I drank a smoothie, checked out the Bump Yer Ass Off! bumpercars:



























and pondered receiving a homemade tattoo:












Then there was the ill-fated visit to Totonno's (which was still amazingly good, despite the fact that no one really felt like eating after the mishap noted in that downbeat post of last Monday...)










Following our pizza, I bid goodbye to my pal, and hooked up with another group of friends. We sat on the shore, watched the sun go down, and pondered whether we'd had the Best Summer Ever, or just a regular summer. (Consensus? Just a regular summer, although plenty good enough.)
















We rounded things up by drinking a couple of beers outside Nathan's, where I spotted these two fellows, who reminded me that mackin' ain't easy. (Or so their jackets said. I was trying so hard to secretly photograph that I didn't have a chance to pose any queries regarding the difficulties of mackin'.)















The last activity of the night involved a pee-inducing ride on the Wonder Wheel:
















The Wonder Wheel completely terrifies me, every time I ride it. Sure, it's beautiful up there and all, especially with the Verrazano bridge gleaming in the distance....but danging hundreds of feet above ground, slowly, slowly swinging back and forth, just makes me feel like I'm gonna pass out and then die in a puddle of pee.

Luckily, I've lived to see another day. What's next, post-Labor Day? Well, I'm going to South Carolina next weekend to visit my momma (affectionately known as Scrawny Bits. You'll be hearing more about Scrawny Bits later, I assure you...), and I bravely signed up for adult ed German classes at the Deutches Haus. The autumn practically gleams with promise, I think--especially auf Deutsch. Macht schnell, mein Leser! Das Leben ist kurz....