Goin' to the fair, fair, fair,
Hope to see you there, there, there,
'Cause we're goin' to the fair ...
(Sorry, Mama, I had to do it!)
After faithfully and excitedly attending the Fair each of my first 18 years, I haven't been since I left home 13 years ago. Each May I feel a prick of homesickness, and these photos stir vivid sensations of Frog Jump: the smell of dusty, dry grass baking on the hills as the sun goes down; the thrill of checking out boys while in line for the Zipper; the comfortable cool of eating hamburgers on a blanket ... . But I also know that to go back would risk dispelling the enchantment of those memories. I'll never be 14 again, and I possess new value sets that I fear would tarnish my estimation of this small-town fair.
Still, to be watching the moon rise up over the barns ...
Midway photo by Brendan and Leah on Flickr, frog jumping photo by Jim Wilson/N.Y.Times; Demolition Derby photos by GFY ink. on Flickr.
5 comments:
But the kids still are just as excited as you were when you were their age. "Ya gonna ride the Zipper this year?" "Do you think I am tall enough for the Twizzler now?" "Do you think my rabbit will win Best of Show?" "I sure hope I get good money for my steer." And they will be at school Monday sun burned and with fair stories. There is something to be said for Fair weekend.
Absolutely! That's why I miss it. But I guess it's a new generation's turn now, not to wax too nostalgic.
I've gone the last few years, since my sister was finishing up with 4-H. It was actually really relaxing. I sat on the grass hill with a picnic lunch and a book for hours. I'd tour the photography and wine exhibits. I never did go up to the Midway. I still watch the news each May in hopes that once again Calaveras County will get its five minutes of fame. :)
The fair got its five minutes of fame when that ride collapsed and mangled everyone.
We took the kids a couple of years ago. It was really fun to see them as excited as I was, even though, I didn't go near as many years as you did! Seeing it freshly again, through their eyes was amazing and reminded me of my early childhood days at the Colusa County Fair. But, alas, as a parent, I saw it as a set of dangers instead of the excitement and fun to be had.
I do have to mention that we actually jumped frogs too - something that I had never done, but always secretly wanted too!
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