Toni Rides The Big Dipper

Back when I was a teenager, I took a trip to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk with my mom, my older brother Len, and our dog, Toni.  Toni,  whose full name was Antoinette Edwards Laurea, was a quiet, unassuming, sweet French bulldog, a little bit on the shy side.

We decided to take a ride on the Bg Dipper, the Santa Cruz roller coaster that’s been around for many years, and is considered one of the scariest rides of its ilk. Len and my mom were to go on the ride, while I waited on the platform with Tony. However, as soon as their car started off, Tony slipped her leash, and jumped on the car with them. There was no way for the car to stop, nor anyway for Tony to get off. So off they went, the three of them, while I stood on the platform, wondering if I would ever see my dog again.

It seemed like an eternity, but finally the car returned after it’s route through thev twists and turns of the Big Dipper. And my goodness, Tony was still with them: with mom and Len holding her firmly successfully preventing her from jumping out. They got out of the car and back onto the platform, and set Tony down. 

Tony was trembling so much she could barely stand. And everybody else was looking at Tony, and then at me and my family, and you could see in their eyes what they must’ve thought of us.  How could we have done this to a dog?

Oh, well, at least nothing terrible happened. And I’m sure that Tony remains the only dog ever to have ridden the Big Dipper.