Grampa's stories #5

This week I am going to tell you about an experience that happened at Knott’s Berry Farm.


When I started composing the story of this experience, I wrote the name “Knottsberry Farm,” and then I thought that I should be sure to spell it correctly, so I looked it up. The term is actually “Knott’s Berry Farm,” which makes sense, since it’s the Knott family's berry farm. But I never knew that until now. I always thought it was Knottsberry. There are a lot of things we can learn, even when we get old. I think you may learn something today that you didn’t know. Like the time I went to Knott's Berry Farm as a child with my family. Disneyland is one of everybody’s favorites--mine too, but my most memorable experience at an amusement park happened at Knott's Berry Farm.


We were watching some Spanish dancers perform on the grounds. It was remarkable, and even as a 4- or 5-year-old kid, I was very impressed. They danced so beautifully to the music. The long Spanish skirts flared into brilliant circles as the women twirled their vibrant colors. I looked up to tell someone that very thing and noticed that I was standing there alone. With dozens of people all around me, I realized that while I was watching the dancers, my family had walked off without me. Frantically, I started looking around to find them. But there were too many people, and I couldn’t see anyone in my family. When I realized the magnitude of my predicament, tears sprang to my eyes and no doubt fear filled my face. At that moment, a kind woman saw my bewildered look and asked, “Little boy. Are you lost?” It was then and there that I lost it. The tears poured out and really ran down my face now. The kind woman took my hand and said, “It’s all right. We’ll find your family.” For the first time, I thought there was hope that maybe I could see my family again. This woman and her party took me to the park’s Lost Children Center. I must have looked pretty distraught, because once we got there, all these kind, pretty girls who were workers came up to me and started talking and telling me it’s going to be okay, and that my parents would come get me shortly. They were so nice to me and played with me. They made me feel important and safe. I forgot how scared I was, and I thought maybe I actually will see my parents again. These nice girls kept visiting with me and telling me that they called my parents with a loudspeaker, and I would see them soon. They made me feel safe and hopeful. Sure enough, my parents came walking through the door to the office, and my whole world got even better.


That’s it! We must have gone on through the park and had a great time on all the rides and so forth, but what I remember most is all these kind people who helped me get back to my family when I got lost.


And boy was I glad.


(This is still one of my favorite stories)



This picture of me was actually when I was a cub scout and probably 8 years old, but I could not find right off a younger picture of me about the time of the Knott's Berry Farm event, so this one will have to do :)

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