The Nostalgic Pleasure Of A Country Fair
by on May.19, 2010, under Uncategorized
Growing up in a small town leaves you with special memories, especially of summertime with long days and no school for a few happy months. The highlight of summer was always the annual country fair, where the whole town turned out. The fair always made a fun day even more so, and made happy memories as well.
Making a bee line for the cotton candy stand was the first thing to do after arriving at the fairgrounds. It cost so little, for all the fun you got, first watching as the cotton candy machine spun out the fluffy pink stuff. Then, pulling off mouthfuls of sugary stickiness was a sure sign that fair fun had started.
After the ritual cotton candy, the Ferris wheel had to be next. Into the car you climbed, giddy with excitement and sticky with pink sugar. You seemed to whirl around faster and faster, and suddenly, if you were lucky, your car stopped at the very top, rocking in a slightly scary way as more passengers got on down below.
After that you went to the game booths on the fairway, promising wonderful rewards to those who could beat them. You could try knocking over heavy bowling pins with a soft ball. Another game involved tossing small gold rings, about the size of mens wedding bands, onto tall thin posts that moved in a circle. None of the games was ever as easy as you thought it would be.
If you were skillful or lucky enough to win at one of the games, there were fantastic prizes to select from. Perhaps you would pick a big fuzzy pink teddy bear, or else a chunky plastic imitation crystal necklace. Then again, it might be funny glasses with spiral patterned lenses, or a magic decoder ring, that you would choose. There were just too many choices.
All that exertion demanded some refueling, so it was on to the hot dog stand or possibly the fresh baked pretzel vendor. But the hot buttered popcorn was calling you from across the way also. As with the game prizes, there were so many choices and too little time.
Farther down the fairway, near where the rodeo would soon take place, a garish clown was juggling plates and otherwise entertaining onlookers. You briefly noticed that the scuffed brown boots he was wearing looked exactly like your seventh grade teacher’s. It seemed odd, but you forgot it a moment later as you laughed at the clown and thought what a great job he had, working at fairs all year long.
Tired and sunburned, but very happy, you finally went home with wonderful memories of another fun country fair. Untroubled by an overfull stomach, you were drifting off to sleep almost before your head was on your pillow. But just as you fell asleep you thought again about your seventh grade teacher and wondered just what he spent his summer doing.
