State Fair Time

Today I am going to the Iowa State Fair. It is a tradition of mine. I have no specific reason to go, nothing in particular that I have to see. I don't buy concert tickets or enter my photography, sewing or cooking for a prize. I don't go for the food, which is the reason most people say they go. I don't have to see the cow made of butter or the largest bull in the state. And I am not interested in looking at farm implements or buying a new vacuum cleaner. I won't buy a bucket of hot chocolate chip cookies, funnel cake, turkey leg, or any of the dozens of things on a stick. I won't step foot on the midway or go near the beer tents. I probably won't spend more than $10, although I sure would if I could. There is a sewing machine there I love...

There is something about the Fair. It is just fun to be there with all the people, the animals, the sounds, the smells, the busyness, the music, and the free entertainment everywhere you look. It is the same feeling when you are in New York City for the day, or at Niagara Falls or on a cruise ship. It is the camaraderie of thousands of people all sharing in the same experience at the same time. Everyone is there for fun. No one is in a rush, on a schedule or wishing they were somewhere else.




I will grab a shaken lemonade, sit in the shade and just watch. In just a few minutes, there will be thousands of different people walking by, a clown in a little car, a cop on horseback, golf carts loaded with ice, a hundred strollers full of cute babies and miscellaneous purchases, a juggler, a school field trip with all the little kids hanging onto a single rope, and teenagers in many different fashion statements from cute to totally weird. It is much better than TV. I will walk to the top of the hill to the house, sit on the porch in a rocker and let the breeze cool me off. I'll walk through many of the buildings to see all the displays, talents, wares, samples, and ideas. I will ride the sky ride, just because I can. I will eat something good for me for supper so that I am not tempted to buy all the junk...but I will also have something junky just for fun. I'll sit in on a free concert or two, watch a demonstration of a new kitchen gadget, look at the "most ugly cake" winners, and go through the horse barn to see the beauties there.

And when I leave, I know I will not have seen half of what I could have, so I will have to go back next year!