nixtress's Diaryland Diary

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The Fair

We got to the fair pretty early. Three hours before the rides even opened, in fact. The first part of our time there was spent wandering through the animal barns and through the various merchant booths. The boys loved the cows, sheep and horses. We wandered through the bunnies and poultry and got this really awesome picture of a rooster giving me the evil eye. This rooster took a dislike to me, crowing every time I got near it. And there was this chicken that looked like it had huge, white dreadlocks. No kidding--it was the most bizarre looking chicken I've ever seen! The boys wanted a picture of the Holstein giving us the "go to hell" look, so we got one of that too. I was sorely tempted to buy this tiny rabbit that was colored remarkably like a Siamese cat. Very pretty, very tiny, very unnecessary. I'd need some handy person to build me a hutch, however, and I don't currently have access to one of those.

SO. After we dodged steaming piles of..nevermind. We then went through the Merchant Buildings and the boys collected multiple bags of JUNK. My sons now are the proud owners of pencils with every logo known to man, rubber openers for stubborn cans printed with an ad for breast cancer awareness, numerous nail files, rulers with water softener phone numbers, multi-colored balloons waiting for all of their hot air, pens with fake hearing aids attached, pill sorters from a local pharmacy, so many magnets I could completely cover my fridge in them, notepads galore, stickers and several wooden nickels. Treasure. They were incredibly happy with their loot. Add into that mix several pieces of candy and it was a profitable day for little people.

We stopped long enough for them to ingest corndogs and rootbeer and then we traded our entrance tickets for hand stamps for the rides. Trev promptly swiped his (freshly inked, still wet) hand across the seat of my pants and left a mustard colored smear. Lovely. They then proceeded to sample just about every ride there. They terrified me by riding the Scream Machine, a ride that goes in a circle up and down, going upside down as it picks up speed. I was a wreck. I'm trying really hard to curb my overprotective streak and this was a lesson. We all survived and ended the day purchasing (what else!?) cotton candy.

I'm glad that we went today as the lines were almost non-existant and it was much less crowded than it will be on Friday. We had a good time, but I was glad to get home and get the heck off my feet. That's what I get for wearing sneakers for probably the third time this summer. The boys went right to sleep tonight. Thankfully, I had a patience boost just after dinner and we made it through the getting-ready-for-bed routine with very few issues. Now everything is quiet, cooling down and I'm slowing down as well.

Overall, a good day.

I am always amazed by the carnies they find to work these things, however. Where did all their teeth go? And I've never seen so many homemade tattoos gathered in one place. They all smoke, all seem long and lean and more than a little rough. Makes me wonder if they have work camps somewhere, where they train these guys. And don't forget the groupies that hang around with these guys. Most of them had bad dye jobs and their own fair share of missing teeth. They also wore clothing about six sizes too small and were quite proud of their chub seeing the light of day. I lost count of how many chewers/spitters I saw (male and female) but I'm thinking there were as many smokers as those with a chaw in.

I love people watching.

***

Good night. Sweet dreams. Sleep tight.

N.

9:05 p.m. - 2004-09-22

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