For Your Amusement
I lied about my age on the job application. I even doctored a Xerox copy of my birth certificate with zero regard for any possible fines or imprisonment. I had to get this job—but I was 15, too young. The minimum age to work at AstroWorld was 16. Who could blame me, though? A job at AstroWorld was the hottest thing a teenager could do in Houston in the ’80s.
I sat in the personnel reception area, waiting for my name to be called. My mother waited in her car in the parking lot listening to Luther Vandross, windows down and managing the humidity and heat with a hand fan depicting Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. It didn’t take long. I got the job. A week later, I put on the blue and yellow uniform with the nametag. I had arrived. I was officially part of the dream.
AstroWorld was an amusement park owned by Six Flags of America located between Kirby and Fannin drives, south of the 610 Loop. It was built to complement the famed Astrodome, affectionately known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” and opened in 1968 as part of the Astrodomain envisioned by former Houston Mayor Roy Hofheinz. The park sat in the middle of urban sprawl, unlike most amusement parks across the country that were sequestered in small neighboring towns and suburbs of larger cities. Thus, access to AstroWorld was very democratic.
On any given day, you could take the Metro bus from any part of the city and get delivered right to the doorstep of this magical land. A paved overpass crossed the bustling 610 Loop from the Astrodome parking area, leading to a fanciful gated entrance. Behind the gate, various rides made of wood and steel painted in bright colors or metallic shades jolted in the air, twisting and turning.
