Kiddieland's German Carousel on Ebay!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kiddieland-German-Auto-Carousel-1950s-Museum-Quality-/320674607341

I buy the Powerball twice a week.  I mean, someone has to win it and it might as well be me.  Because I've got plans.  Big plans.

One of those plans has to do with this particular Ebay auction.  I urge you to click on the link above and feast your eyes on the crowning jewel of the rides which ran at my beloved Kiddieland for decades, the German Carousel.  Kiddie-sized, colorful, rarest of the rare.  To scan through all the photos in the Ebay listing is like entering the time tunnel back to your childhood, where you could amble onto one of the mini sportscars and pretend you were Speed Racer.

So, please send all the positive vibes you can for this ride, that it ends up in the right hands, with someone who truly treasures it and will care for it for decades to come.  Like me.  If I win the Powerball this Wednesday, I will purchase this carousel (there - you have it in writing) and gift it to the first park that can prove to me it will give it a good forever home.

Knoebel's, are you reading this???  Del Grosso's, would you be interested???

Wondering where they are now...

I've used the accompanying photo as my profile picture on Facebook. I found it while doing a Google search on Kiddieland months back. I think some of my friends got confused and thought it was a photo of Ben and me at Kiddieland as kids (which would be impossible unless we were time travelers). The sheer joy and unbridled thrill on the faces of these kids just tickles me. In a grey, fuzzy mood? Whip out this photo (no pun intended, as they're riding the Roto Whip) and it'll surely dispel the most dismal of moods.

But it got me wondering: who are these kids and where are they today? The ride pictured here is Kiddieland's Roto Whip, a truly wonderful vintage ride WF Mangels dating back to 1939. Imagine the hundreds, no, more like thousands of children who've thrilled to the whip and whir of the ride over the years. Judging by the clothing here, I'd say this was taken sometime in the late 40s through the 50s. These kids are more than likely entitled to a senior discount at the movies by now.

This ride obviously touched the hearts of so many kids and their parents, who were forever rewarded with the memory of Sally or Tommy giggling gleefully, then snapping a photo to make it stick. Interestingly, it was up for sale on Ebay just this past week, with a starting bid of $10,000.

It received no bids.

Hello out there! Anyone interested in giving this ride a new home? Anyone? Buehler?

(Maybe these kids are named "Buehler", you never know. Maybe I'll Google "Buehler")