On Friday evening, Nettl and I went to Bad Brad's for dinner. After our meal we decided to drop by the county fair, since we were on that end of town anyway and the weather was so nice...Compared to the Ventura County Fair, the Payne County Fair was more like a country carnival, but we had a good time walking through the exhibitions and 4-H barns. It also had a vintage Dentzel carousel with not only horses, but a cat, rooster, rabbit, emu, pig, lion, and who knows what else. It was beautiful! There was also a Super Slide that I was itching to ride and a large ferris wheel. The other rides were mostly geared for people who don't have to worry about being hurtled in figure eights after eating plates of short ribs and cowboy beans. We decided that we would bring the family out to the fair on Sunday evening. Nettl would have some cash and I would bring the camera. I would also have an empty stomach.
Super Slides first made their appearance in California when I was 16. We had family friends who lived in San Gabriel just blocks from one. Cathy and I spent hours riding it. We'd grown up in the Santa Ynez valley sliding down large hills on pieces of cardboard anyway, so this was not a new thrill for us. The last time I rode a Super Slide I was 18 and seven months pregnant with my first child. I was like that. I also rode a mini-bike when I was a week overdue. Ah, the wisdom of youth.Envisioning the picture I would take for you from the top of the Super Slide, I rode in the car with the family to the fairgrounds yesterday evening, as excited as a little kid. I even donned socks and sneakers, a rare occurrence in the summer time. But when we arrived, the lot was empty. We had missed the fair. There would be no picture of Nettl sitting on the cat with its tail up, no pickle-on-a-stick, no standing with Joel staring wantoningly at the model trains, and I would not be riding the Super Slide. The car was virtually clouded with expletives both mild and strong.
When we got over our shock, we discussed what we could do to fill our evening with fun. Unfortunately, there's not much to do here except eat, so we found ourselves at Wendy's, simply because they serve frosties and for some reason, at that moment, that seemed kind of carnival-like.We spent the rest of the evening laughing ourselves to stomach aches watching MST3K movies and shorts, and eating popcorn. All-in-all it was a really great night with the family.
Today, I'm grilling burgers on the patio, drinking beer and slathering myself with mosquito repellent. But first, I have to get up from here, clean the grill, go buy the beer (which will only be 3.2 because it's a holiday and the liquor stores are closed) and briquettes.
Today, I only vaguely miss the fair.
