Summertime Fun

One of my favorite summertime activities is going to the County Fair. I grew up in a farming community and my family raised 4-H livestock. So many summers were spent at the cattle and sheep barns. This is how I learned to appreciate and respect the farmers, not only as people, but how they are an intregal part of our daily lives. 4-H Website

Carnival rides, carnival food, livestock judging, 4-H projects, fair queen contest (heh)...helping shape and mold generations. The most memorable experience was the annual sleep-over the night before the livestock auction. Yes...us kids slept over at the fair in the livestock barns. Of course not until we cleaned them of the obvious waste. lol But it was something that made us boys into men, even if for one night. Staying up until sunrise, eating all the carnival food we could and playing general pranks on one another. This is where, instead of 500 rummy, we played 10,000 rummy. lol

Carnival food...yum! Roasted ears of corn, elephants ears, fried ice cream, lemon shake-ups, fresh made kettle corn...ok, you get the idea. (wipes a bit of drool) My son is old enough to ride all the carnival rides now. Amazing because he's shaping into a daredevil. There is only one ride he stays clear of, I'm not sure of the name but swings you in a loop and rolls you at the same time. I think maybe seeing other people toss their carnival food might have deterred him.

The demolition derby and the tractor pulls are highlights for me now. The demolition derby allows me to visualize me taking out my frustrations on aggressive drivers during my daily commute. lol The tractor pulls is nothing more than man against physics. The smoke bellowing from the exhaust, the engine roaring, the dirt flying...the anticipation of whether or not they'll make the line. Of course I still watch the livestock judging. Nothing is as memorable as winning first place! To see the pride swell in each kid is worth sweating it out on a hot summer day inside a pole barn.

I cannot wait until we visit the County Fair. We may even venture to the State Fair again this year. It was unbearablly hot last year as the temp broke 96 degrees that day. Slowed us down from seeing everything we wanted but an enjoyable time in all. And naturally, I couldn't leave the fair without my elephant ear and lemon shake-up.