Flying With Frankie
Three Hundred Days In Amusement Parks Riding Roller Coasters With My Son
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
I'm about to lose my wife and I don't want to lose my son, too.
That depressing thought kept racing through my mind all day long, as my five year old boy, Frankie, and I were enjoying our first day ever at an amusement park in 1994. My marriage was shot and beyond repair; and I now faced many a parent's dread: what effect would the divorce have on my son, and how will I maintain any semblance of a normal rapport with him? The answer, miraculously was only hours away.
Right before exiting the immense park for the evening, my rambunctious boy somehow lured me onto the thrill arena's big roller coaster for a ride. That solitary coaster journey hooked us up for life to the joys of gallivanting upon these flying machines, and for the next fifteen summers that's basically all we did.
We ultimately shared over 300 days together in amusement parks, as we traveled 40,000 miles by car, plane, and sleeper-car train to every thrill park in the country that housed anything close to resembling a roller coaster.
The divorce came soon enough, and inflicted its normal dose of hardship and despair. But it proved to be no match for the wonderful memories that accompanied all of our trips, and the steadfast bond that grew between us, merely in pursuit of our beloved joyrides.
Flying With Frankie is our story.
FLYINGWITHFRANKIE.COM
About the Author
Charles F. Gobel is a Senior Vice-President of a major investment firm, a career that’s spanned thirty years. He and his son Frankie are avid roller coaster enthusiasts and have spent 300 days together in amusement parks in pursuit of their high-flying passion. The two have earned the distinction of being one of the more notable father and son roller coaster-riding duos in the country, and have been members of the fanatical roller coaster club, American Coaster Enthusiasts, since 1996.
Mr. Gobel is also a writer, and has had articles published about his thrill-ride adventures with his son in various magazines, including Best Life (June/July 2008 “Scream Machines: A Guide to the Best and Most Terrifying, Death-defying Roller Coasters in the Country”); Bergen County the Magazine (July/August 2007-“Flying With Frankie”); and Parent Guide (June 2008-“Can We Go On, Just Once?”). Flying With Frankie is Mr. Gobel’s first book and he is currently working on a screenplay and a travel series of the same subject matter.
Frankie Gobel is now twenty-one years old and an aspiring actor. He’s appeared in music videos, had the lead role in an independent movie titled Believe, will also be featured in another indie film called Drama Class that is currently in production, and not coincidentally, starred in a television commercial for the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the United States, Kingda Ka.