Roller Coaster

I've decided that my definition of middle age is when the losses in your life are at least as plentiful as the gains. There are times when life is undilutedly intense, just as when you measure out three scoops of coffee but add only enough water for two. I'm in one of those periods now. No wonder I need an afternoon nap, fall asleep on the couch at 9 at night. I'm sure my heart has bags under its eyes. It's from too much life, and too much death, and too many other life passages happening at once.

At last count, St. Joseph's junior forward Greg Mullee had visited Disney World at least 100 times. His father has been director of purchasing for that giant Orlando, Fla., amusement park since 1970. "I went there so many times when I was younger, it got a little boring after a while," Mullee said. "It's really neat, though. We get special privileges. We get in the park for free. That's the main thing. " Mullee's favorite ride is Space Mountain. He has been on the same type of roller coaster since his college career began.

A 19-year-old Chester woman was killed yesterday afternoon when she plummeted from the Lightnin' Loops roller coaster at the Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in Jackson Township, N.J., police said. Karen Anne Marie Brown, of the 300 block of Rural Road, was killed when she fell from the roller coaster about 3:45 p.m., said a spokeswoman for the Freehold Area Hospital in Monmouth County. Brown was riding on the roller coaster with her boyfriend, Richard De Prince, 20, of Chester, De Prince's father said last night.

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. - The remains of a roller coaster that was knocked off an amusement pier during Hurricane Sandy and partially submerged in the Atlantic Ocean might be left there as a tourist attraction. Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers told WNBC-TV in New York officials had not decided whether to tear down the ride. But he said he was working with the U.S. Coast Guard to see whether the roller coaster was stable enough to leave alone, because he believes it would make "a great tourist attraction.

A 12-year-old boy expecting a day packed with fun landed in the hospital Thursday afternoon when a bird slammed into his face as he was riding the Kingda Ka roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure. Kristin Siebeneicher, a spokeswoman for the park in Jackson, N.J., said that the roller coaster had already plummeted 45 stories back toward the ground and was pulling into the station when the bird struck the boy's face. He suffered minor injuries and was treated at a local hospital, Siebeneicher said.

A boy riding a roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure was hospitalized after a small bird slammed into his face Thursday afternoon, park officials said. Kristin Siebeneicher, a spokeswoman for the park in Jackson, N.J., said the Kingda Ka coaster had already plummeted 45 stories back toward the ground and was pulling into the station when the bird struck the passenger's face about 4:45 p.m. Park officials said that they could not disclose the age of the passenger but that he is a minor.

State inspectors continued their work yesterday at the Steel Pier after two mishaps in three days closed amusement rides on the historic Boardwalk attraction. Four children from Tennessee had to be rescued from the Wildcat roller coaster on Tuesday afternoon when the emergency-stop button on the ride's generator was accidently activated. The children were left stranded 40 feet in the air for about 30 minutes. No one was injured, and the ride was re-opened yesterday. But an Elizabeth, N.J., woman remained hospitalized yesterday following a Sunday night accident in which she fell from an amusement ride called the Wipeout.

When members of American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) climb aboard Hercules, the world's tallest wood-structure roller-coaster, their faces spread into the widest of possible smiles. When the coaster begins to move, just as it is starting to inch away from the station, they break into applause - even before anything has really happened, just because they can't wait for the delicious sensation of nearly falling off a 55-degree embankment at 70 miles per hour. To the 462 men and women of ACE who are meeting at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom for their 12th annual international convention, the roller coaster is a mechanical marvel that provides the greatest of thrills and performs the most magnificent of functions.

Willard R. Miller, 66, a South Jersey businessman whose lifelong aspiration was to be a carnival man, died of cancer Monday at his home in Florida. Mr. Miller, known as Bill, founded a one-truck waste-collection service in 1972 and turned it into a thriving business, Super Kwik Waste Services. Two years after selling the company in 1999, Mr. Miller bought a million-dollar roller coaster and started Miller Midway Entertainment. It took nine large trucks to transport it to carnivals.

DARIEN, N.Y. - A U.S. Army veteran who lost both legs in Iraq and had been trying to rebuild his life was killed after he was thrown from a roller coaster at an Upstate New York amusement park. Teams of inspectors on Saturday were examining the Ride of Steel coaster at the Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, about 30 miles east of Buffalo. Sgt. James Thomas Hackemer, 29, was ejected from the 208-foot-tall ride Friday evening, after climbing aboard during an outing with family and friends.