Fooey Cool Baby Clothes - Mr. Mom, Blue Flash Homemade Roller Coaster

Fooey Favorite Things

Mr. Mom
"220... 221, whatever it takes."

I'm guessing a lot of you have seen this classic film starring Michael Keaton and Teri Garr but for those of you who have not, time to hit that NetFlix queue or your local video store.

What's not to love? You've got Michael Keaton playing a dad who takes his turn at home with the kids while his wife, Teri Garr, goes back to work. WHAT? I know, I know, seems like a dated concept now but give 'em a break, this was 1983. Did I mention this movie was written by ubiquitous 80's film guy John Hughes? Throw in Martin Mull as Keaton's male rival and some wonderful performances from two great child actors and you have a movie you can watch over and over with the family.

There used to be a great clip on YouTube in which Keaton defends his choice to grow a beard but it has been taken down. Here's a link to the trailer but there is a good chance it will be taken down soon as well.

Mr. Mom trailer

John Ivers Blue Flash Roler Coaster

Blue Flash Roler Coaster

Blue Flash - Homemade Roller Coaster
Yeah, I said HOMEMADE roller coaster

OK, what? A homemade roller coaster? Yes, and I've ridden it!

Built by Indiana resident John Ivers in his spare time out of scrap metal, the Blue Flash is one of the world's only homemade private coasters and as far as I know the only one to include a loop.

Claiming he was tired of waiting in line at amusement parks, Mr. Ivers decided the most logical solution was to build his own ride. An obvious solution, right? John is as easy going as they come and barely seems phased by the endless parade of riders from all over the world who come to rural Indiana to ride the Blue Flash. I rode it a few years ago and he didn't even charge us, although we did leave a donation for his second coaster "Blue Flash Too" which is now complete.

The car consists of a van seat that sits on top of a small cart with wheels. As I was about to ascend the track for the first time John casually instructed me to turn my head a certain way during the loop to prevent a sore neck. Well guess what, I could barely remember my name as I took the first drop and headed for the loop. Turn my head where, huh? Did he say left or right? Where am I, why am I doing this? If you look close you can see my head almost snap off, but it was worth it.

My first ride on the Blue Flash

Video of John and his creation. Please note, they are pretending this was his first ride. I know this because he told us he starting riding it before it was even finished. His first ride ended with him flying into the yard after the track ended.

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