Embarassing Moment

People say it’s like friendship, everyone can see it but only you get the warm pleasant

sensation. What they don’t tell you is that it’s not a pleasant experience, they don’t tell you the

overwhelming embarrassment you feel, and they don’t tell about the self-consciousness that

ensues. The experience diminishes any enjoyment from the rest of the world around you. All

you can think about is the consequence of your action. Nothing can tarnish your memory of the

happiest place on earth quite like the warm intimate feeling that everyone can see.

It was a sizzling summer day in Southern California. I felt entrapped in my own body, my

breath came in short difficult bursts. The air was as thick as a steam room, every breath

brought in as much moisture as oxygen. The smell of sweat stung my nostrils like a freshly cut

onion, combining with the repulsive stench of sweltering asphalt to choke my throat and make

it impossible to breathe. I was drowned in all of the movement swirling around me. An

assortment of colors flashed before my eyes, drawing my attention from one diversion to the

next. Above it all I could pick out the rustic gateway to the old west. The start of a crazy

adventure stretched tantalizingly before me. I could hear the roar of the unseen voyage that lay

just behind the wall. I could hardly contain my excitement as the tallest mountain in the world

loomed over me coming closer with every passing minute.

I looked up at my father glowing with excitement. My father looked back down at me; I

could see my reflection in his coke bottle sunglasses. His skin shown a glistening dark bronze,

reflecting his Filipino lineage. His thick black hair lay slicked back on top of his roun...

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...rouble I was in and what he would say. I

was already embarrassed enough, the last thing I needed was for my dad to be disappointed in

As my father spoke with the operator of the ride, his backside facing my family looked

as if he had fallen into a giant puddle. I was so ashamed of what had happened I really just

wanted to run away, get out, and hide, for I feared what my father’s reaction would be. I knew

my father would just say “you should have said you needed to go before” and would shake his

head in frustration. Once my father was done talking to the ride operator he began to walk

towards me, I looked down at the concrete where I stood, just waiting to hear my father’s voice

in anger. When he reached us, he turned toward me and grabbed my arm, pulling me into an

embrace. “It’s okay,” He said reassuringly. “It happens to the best of us”.