Next week our county fair begins. The event is one that brings back fond memories and reminds me of my childhood dreams and plans. The fair was such an exciting place to visit! I could covet the animals, especially the horses, be jealous of the amazing talents of other people, admire the lovely displays of flowers, observe hundreds of other people, see new products, eat tasty food, and listen to free music concerts. There were different sights and sounds and smells from one end of the grounds to the other and I was anxious to experience as much as possible before my feet wore out.
One of the most exciting events that I witnessed at the fair was the birth of a calf! It was the first one I had ever seen from “start to finish”. I think I was about six. It was born in one of the barns, just as we were touring the building. No time to turn around…so my parents just let me watch. It was messy, but I was too amazed to care about details.
I had to beg my mom to let me see the next big attraction when I was eight. Dad agreed to go in with me so she finally allowed me to pay my quarter to see the “tattooed lady”. I had never seen a woman with a tattoo, so seeing one covered from neck to ankles in them was more than a bit shocking. However, after staring at her for a few minutes, I moved on to the “two headed calf”, which I was quite disappointed to discover, was dead and “preserved”.
One building of displays always made me feel magically transported to another world and inspired me to consider new possibilities for my future. My parents could have literally dropped me off at the art building and returned hours later to retrieve me. They never did, but I sometimes wished they would so I could spend enough time studying the paintings and figuring out how the artists could create something so perfectly wonderful. By the time I was in middle school I even had a favorite artist and looked for her work each year. Sadly, I don’t recall her name anymore.
Sewing projects were the ones that I thought I might manage to duplicate one day. I learned to sew while quite young and there was something logical and understandable about patterns. I never thought I would be the best seamstress in the world, but I thought I might one day make something I could at least enter.
Mom liked to see the flower displays and Dad liked the vegetables and crops. I could certainly appreciate the beauty of the flowers, but I couldn’t really understand why Dad was interested in the difference between two potatoes or a big tomato vs. a small one. They all tasted the same to me!
Corn dogs and bierocks were my favorite fair foods. We also sampled a few candies and cotton candy and popcorn and…well, you get the idea. Dad paid for lunch and we made the important decisions about how to spend our hard-earned “spending money”. Sometimes I spent mine on food. Other times I bought some little souvenir.
There were dozens of things that we missed seeing at the fair, but we seldom attended more than once per season because we didn’t have the time or money to return. I’m thankful my parents were able to give us those experiences. Later I attended several fairs with friends and family members. I’ve been to the OK and TX state fairs. Gary and I have taken our children to a variety of fairs. They still continue to attract us for at least a few hours. I’m looking forward to seeing the animals and projects and plants next week.
BTW, the only ribbon I ever earned at the fair was for photography.
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