Comments The History of the Pseudoopticon

The History of the Pseudoopticon: 04/16/05

I had a strange dream and it went like this...

Ian and I were taking a tour of amusement parks. I can only guess that we had left Sean with grandparents for a couple of days because he was not in this dream. Anyway, we parked our car at a rather rural looking train station where we met up with the other tour members. Most of them resembled the nice people I have recently met in real life at the Book Crossing meet up. True to form, one of them (I didn't see who) released a book about animals. I promptly caught it, having spotted it from our car.

The first place we went was a furniture store like Ikea (but not Ikea). Built into the store they had a roller coaster. We rode it once and the ride broke down about 3/4 of the way through. We were escorted off the ride and given free vouchers to ride again. By the time we got back to the line, the line was stretching out the door. We stayed late to ride it and then caught the train to the next stop.

The remainder of the dream takes place at the second stop. The second stop also only had one ride, a Ferris wheel built into a strange building that presumable an oddly built wind mill. (Sort of like the "ride" in Majora's Mask but much funkier).

As I was the first person off the train, I was given a ticket for the #1 seat (apparently a coveted prize) and Ian was given a ticket for the #2 spot. While there were some food booths and midway games near the train station, the main attraction was up on a hill and we had to ride a very fast ski lift to the top.

Nearly at the top of the lift the ski lift spirals up the side of the structure making us appreciate just how huge it was. Just before coming into the station we passed a nice looking restaurant and pub and dinner was being served to a few couples already there. Ian and I decided to stop there for dinner if we had the time.

However, we didn't get into the station. A flustered chef (who we would soon learn was the owner of the entire attraction) handed me a bowl of rice with the order: "Hold this for me" and then she put the lift in reverse for a bit. We were left dangling over the first turn with a glorious view of the sunset over the mountains, the valley below and the massive structure to our right and the restaurant just in front.

Ian, either bored or something else, decided to rebutton his blue shirt. One of the buttons popped off and bounced down the track to the parking lot below. I scolded him because that was the second button he had lost off the shirt today.

At last the lift was restarted and we were taken all the way to the station. I handed the bowl of rice to the chef who was looking very sad. The restaurant lights were now off and the place looked closed. "What happened?" we asked.

She explained that England (apparently the entire country) had just phoned to shut them down. They didn't like they way she was running her pub and her fish and chips weren't up to English specs. Ian perked up and said he could help her get things up and running before they called back in an hour.

The sun set and we had still not ridden the ride. I guess the other members of the tour had retired to their rooms for the night. The building was large enough to have an inn as well.

While Ian and the owner worked on fixing things with the pub, I went to the lobby (or our room, not sure) and watched a TV presentation of the history of the attraction. It was originally built as a "pseudoopticon" by a Victorian eccentric. Sometime after a the invention of the air plane, a biplane crashed into the roof of the building and it was cheaper to leave the plane on the roof. Then about thirty or forty years ago (1960s or 1970s I think as Ian and I didn't look any older) the aging "pseudoopticon" was bought by another wealthy entrepreneur who had restored it and installed the Ferris wheel. Then a year or so ago, the most recent owner had bought the place and started the inn, restaurant and pub.

Anyway, that's the gist of my dream. I don't think we ever got to ride the Ferris wheel.

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