Well, my big, bright “Let me snap your picture” T-shirt must be working, because the operator of The Zipper at the Lorain County Fair ran me down as I walked around late tonight.

He asked me to snap a shot of him and his fellow co-workers, and I gladly obliged. After I’d snapped a few shots, the asked me if I’d like a ride.

I enthusiastically agreed as they explained to me riders had to go two to a car … so I would have to ride with one of them. (Did I just fall for an old line?)

Anyway, I climbed in with my camera as they warned me to “hold on tight” to it.

I was a little disappointed at first to see how entirely caged in the Zipper cars were. (I couldn’t poke my lens through for a good clean shot.)

Less than a second or two later I was thanking God and everyone else for those restrictive cages.

Here’s video of my ride:

The Zipper has a large arm that rotates, with a number of cars that spin independently.

Now, I can imagine The Zipper is pretty terrifying operating normally. But climb in the car with someone who’s spent the summer perfecting the art of rocking and flipping the cage, and, well, let’s just say I pushed the button on the camera, closed my eyes and just hoped I was recording.

Three minutes later I emerged. I seemed OK, then nearly tripped over my camera bag as I stumbled around dizzy. Tonight I think I’ll check out a ride that doesn’t require me being upside down multiple times!

Contact Rona Proudfoot at rproudfoot@chroniclet.com, (440) 371-0792 or stop by to see her at the fair. She’s based at the WEOL booth and will be wondering the fairgrounds in a bright gold Chroniclet.com T-shirt.