Memories of the Fair
Joe's work recently held a wacky staff-fun activity called "Fair Food Friday". One of his co-workers comes from a family of fair food vendors and he worked to bring fair food to the masses at Youthworks. It made me recall my (Tina's) own experiences at the fair as a child.
When Tim and I were kids, going to the fair wasn't about having fun --at least not the kind most young kids would consider. I take that back,there are plenty of kids who grow up in countries where fun consists of watching the dirt blowing across a parched and desolate landscape.These Third World desert
kids would have jumped at the opportunity to follow our parents around the fair in 100 degree heat. I consider myself unspeakably lucky compared to many. Thanks, Mom and Dad. Anyway, back to memories of the fair. My one goal at the fair was to ride the rides. I LOVED rides. Dad instilled a love of exciting rides at a very early age when he took meon a huge roller-coaster at Six Flags, when I was just five years old. This was the kind of roller-coaster that went upside-down several times. I was (and frankly still am) far shorter than the little sign that said,"You must be THIS tall to ride this ride." This particular Six Flags worker let me go on the roller-coaster anyway since I was with a responsible adult. Shortly after we went upside-down the first time, my dad realized there's actually a reason for the height requirement. I guess the lap-bar that holds people in their seats wasn't really designed to be used by a wee tiny child. Dad spent most of the ride holding on to me so I wouldn't go flying out and land on the ground with all the stuff that falls out of people's pockets. I didn't realize the ride was anything but thrilling, and I couldn't wait to do it again. Thus, my love of rides was unleashed.
This love of rides, however, was born into a family controlled by Mom -- a non-ride person. Her enjoyment of the fair comes from activities thatare slow-moving and take place 100% on the ground. These ground-based activities were the priority of the Smith family's fair going experience throughout my childhood and had to be completed in their entirety beforegoing on ANY rides. First, we would carefully make our way through the cattle barns to
where my cousins were camping out with their prize-winning heifers while waiting for their turn to compete. There we would swat at flies and try not to inhale too deeply. Occasionally we would have to quickly dodge fresh manure as it was being deposited by nearby cattle. We would eventually make our way to the non-air-conditioned arena where we would sit and watch until my cousins were finished competing. Being nothing more than your basic city-girl, I didn't understand the judging criteria for cattle shows. All the cows looked the same to me, except for the variations in their spots. Add the confusion, arena smell, lack of air-conditioning and boredom, to my intense desire to ride rides, and you've got a pretty clear picture of how much I enjoyed the cattle shows. My mother's exasperated conversations with me went something like this: "I don't know what the judges are looking for." "Yes, I know it's hot in here." "I told you before that we will ride the rides later." "No, you may not go ride the rides by yourself and meet us back here when the cows come home."
When Tim and I were kids, going to the fair wasn't about having fun --at least not the kind most young kids would consider. I take that back,there are plenty of kids who grow up in countries where fun consists of watching the dirt blowing across a parched and desolate landscape.These Third World desert
kids would have jumped at the opportunity to follow our parents around the fair in 100 degree heat. I consider myself unspeakably lucky compared to many. Thanks, Mom and Dad. Anyway, back to memories of the fair. My one goal at the fair was to ride the rides. I LOVED rides. Dad instilled a love of exciting rides at a very early age when he took meon a huge roller-coaster at Six Flags, when I was just five years old. This was the kind of roller-coaster that went upside-down several times. I was (and frankly still am) far shorter than the little sign that said,"You must be THIS tall to ride this ride." This particular Six Flags worker let me go on the roller-coaster anyway since I was with a responsible adult. Shortly after we went upside-down the first time, my dad realized there's actually a reason for the height requirement. I guess the lap-bar that holds people in their seats wasn't really designed to be used by a wee tiny child. Dad spent most of the ride holding on to me so I wouldn't go flying out and land on the ground with all the stuff that falls out of people's pockets. I didn't realize the ride was anything but thrilling, and I couldn't wait to do it again. Thus, my love of rides was unleashed.This love of rides, however, was born into a family controlled by Mom -- a non-ride person. Her enjoyment of the fair comes from activities thatare slow-moving and take place 100% on the ground. These ground-based activities were the priority of the Smith family's fair going experience throughout my childhood and had to be completed in their entirety beforegoing on ANY rides. First, we would carefully make our way through the cattle barns to
where my cousins were camping out with their prize-winning heifers while waiting for their turn to compete. There we would swat at flies and try not to inhale too deeply. Occasionally we would have to quickly dodge fresh manure as it was being deposited by nearby cattle. We would eventually make our way to the non-air-conditioned arena where we would sit and watch until my cousins were finished competing. Being nothing more than your basic city-girl, I didn't understand the judging criteria for cattle shows. All the cows looked the same to me, except for the variations in their spots. Add the confusion, arena smell, lack of air-conditioning and boredom, to my intense desire to ride rides, and you've got a pretty clear picture of how much I enjoyed the cattle shows. My mother's exasperated conversations with me went something like this: "I don't know what the judges are looking for." "Yes, I know it's hot in here." "I told you before that we will ride the rides later." "No, you may not go ride the rides by yourself and meet us back here when the cows come home."
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