A History of Public Transportation
The little mermaid's name was Ariel and she lived with her family down in the ocean. As a teenager Ariel wished she could come up onto land and see what went on above and mingle with people. But her folks were skeptical and apprehensive. They told her, "You don't want to mingle with fish eaters!
Tall, handsome, dark haired Eric lived in a small town a few miles from a big city. He felt like a prince in his new apartment which was a lot more luxurious than a hut le lived in just a few months ago.
Eric worked on a fishing boat. Six days a week, he and some coworkers took the trolley the five miles out to the coast where his boat was docked. On Sundays, Eric stayed at home to relax, or he went to the neighborhood bar for drinks and merriment and gambling.
But the trolley car company wanted to make money seven days a week instead of having the cars sit idle on Sundays. So they created another destination for people to travel to, specifically they bought some land away from town and built a theme park. They chose a location at the beach, where people could also go swimming when the weather was good.
It was one Sunday that Ursula, the wicked witch of the sea, granted Ariel her wish, but just for one day. If she did not return by midnight, her family would die. But if a young man kissed her without her saying a word, she could get to stay on land as long as she wanted to.
It was that same Sunday that Eric decided to go to the theme park. He dropped his nickel into the fare box and the same trolley he took to work started off. This time he stayed on board past his usual stop. Shortly Eric saw in the distance lots of pinpoints of light in the morning fog, literally a fairyland as his mother told him in stories from long ago. Then the trolley pulled into the station at the park
Lively music was playing and hundreds of small electric lights adorned the station and the buildings.
As Eric got off the trolley he saw a red headed girl standing against a railing. It was Ariel. Instead of the clamshells on her chest she wore a nice dress. Instead of on her flipper, she was standing on, what do you call those things, legs(?)
Eric thought he had seen Ariel's face before but didn't recall where. He went up to her and asked her, "Would you like to spend the day with me?" '
Ariel nodded.
Eric got out two nickels, one for himself and one for Ariel, and put them into the turnstile at the park entrance. At the ferris wheel he gave two more nickels to the attendant and got into a seat with Ariel.. Ariel and Eric held hands as the ferris wheel started to rotate slowly. Then the wheel stopped with them at the very top. Eric could see his fishing boat off in the distance and also he could see the trolley track going off towards town and disappearing into the woods.
Will he kiss her? You never know how good a kiss can feel when you're stopped at the top of a ferris wheel(1).
Well, not yet. Eric seemed more interested in the man down below running the ferris wheel and who was pulling on a handle like the one the trolley motorman operated. It was the same kind of controller feeding the same 600 volts direct current into the same kind of motor that a trolley car had
Shortly the wheel started to rotate again .The breeze was pleasant as they were swooped down and swept up. After a few minutes the ride was over, Eric and Arial got off and walked hand in hand down the concourse past the game pavilions. Ariel saw a huge display panel of who-zits and what-zits and gadgets and gizmos. She paused and pulled on Eric's arm. Eric stopped also and got out a nickel which he placed on a counter. A man behind the counter took a snarfblat out of his mouth and handed Eric a bow and arrow. "Shoot the fish!" the man told Eric as he pointed to the mechanical shooting gallery behind him. Ariel felt a bit uneasy. Eric aimed and shot. A bell rang as the arrow hit a very small metal fish which folded over out of view. "Bullseye! Take any prize you want," the man with the snarfblat yelled, seemingly at Eric but really at passers by as he pointed at the who-zits and what-zits and gadgets and gizmos. Eric looked at a fancy portable radio. Ariel pointed at something else. "Dinglehopper," she wanted to say but the word would not come out. The man took a fork down from the display and handed it to Ariel who used it to comb her hair. A look of disappointment passed briefly over Eric's face.
Ariel and Eric enjoyed other rides and amusements and savored the hot dogs and fried clams. The day went by fast. Twilight came and then Eric was down to his last two nickels . He put his lips up close to whisper some words into Ariel's ear. "Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?"(2) (Would you like to spend the night with me?) Without thinking, Ariel nodded. Then they headed for the park exit. A trolley car was waiting and they boarded with Eric handing over his last two nickels. With its usual groaning sound, the trolley started off towards town. A few minutes later Ariel felt uneasy again. Did she make a mistake and not head back to the sea? If a man didn't kiss her before the clock struck midnight, would the trolley turn into a pumpkin and would she turn back into a mermaid?
The car rocked gently back and forth as it rolled down the track. Several other young couples sat holding hands or with arms around each others' necks. The yellowish glow from the lights overhead contrasted with the now blue background and the orange glow of the setting sun outside. The atmosphere and mood was just right for a romance. Eric thought he would do the same as the other couples. He sat forward, turned to face Ariel, pressed his face into hers and gave her a long sweet kiss.
The spell was broken. Ariel got her voice back and the first words out of her mouth were, "I love you, Eric."
The father of the bride, King Triton, was far far away deep down under the sea so the father of the groom planned the wedding. They hired an open sided trolley car to take them from the church to the reception hall. As Ariel and Eric stood on the trolley's back porch, holding hands and embracing each other, the townsfolk came out to line the streets and wave and wish them well, and the newlyweds lived happily ever after.
Note (1), (2): Lyrics to a popular songs of the 1960's
Traveling through southern Maine this summer? Visit the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport.
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