I can still recall how as a child certain words could instantly lead to automatic excitement.
Parade, park, fireworks, playground, lake, fishing, carnival and camping. The one word that would literally have me running around yelling and screaming was a short word -- fair.
Yes. That word instantly had me thinking of all the fun things I like to do at the fair, including the rides, games, food and animals I’d see.
Growing up in a small county, which consisted of a lot of dairy farmers like our family, the fair was a place to show off the best gardens, crops and animals. For adults, it was also a great place to visit with people you hadn’t seen in a while, and for kids it was a place to see friends you hadn’t seen all summer.
Once we heard that word uttered, my sister and I would start planning all of the things we wanted to do. When we were younger, we would ride a few kiddie rides, watch the tractor pull or demolition derby with my parents and try and decide what fair food to eat.
My sister and I would often split whatever we picked, whether it be a footlong hotdog with onions, a corn dog or funnel cake. We knew if we would split, then we’d get to enjoy two fair-food items instead of one. Boy, were we sneaky. We thought our parents had no idea what we were doing. Of course, they knew and were happy we thought of sharing.
As my sister and I got older, our interests changed. Sometimes I didn’t care for the change. I would have much rather gone on more rides or watched the demolition derby or tractor pull than stand around gossiping with junior high friends. It seemed like all we’d do is walk back and forth trying to decide what to do while trying to look cool. Not like when I was younger.
One of my favorite parts of the fair was its events. My brother always had a car in the demolition derby. I can still recall how many hours he would work on what I thought was a piece-of-junk car getting it ready for the fair. Every spare minute was designated on getting a car ready. Sometimes, he would add pipes to it, so when he revved the engine, flames would shoot out. It was awesome. Some years, he did great, while other years he said he got a lemon.
One year, he won the entire derby and not only did he receive a cheap trophy that broke about two hours after he received it, he was given $500.
I was so proud. That was the year he let my write my name on the car. I can still recall how excited everyone was at the post demolition derby party. The car he had that year was a real beast and even though you’d think it was about to die, he’d get it fired back up and the crowd would cheer.
As I age, I like different aspects and events of the fair, but one thing still hasn’t changed, the very mention of the word gets me excited for all the fun things I plan to do with my family once we get there.
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