In my younger days I loved the fair. Not just the food but the rides and the exhibits.
Before our kids became teenagers we would make it a family event to go to the fair every year. Once they became teenagers they wanted to go with friends, not parents. Some years they would come home loaded down with stuffed animals they had won.
Something changed for me after we quit going as a family. I would still go though maybe not every year. It just didn’t seem the same and the rides no longer enticed me. They’re just not the same unless you have a kid to ride with at the fair.
I can’t even remember how many years I sat for hours as a volunteer in the Byron booth. They didn’t do that this year and I’m not sure I would have done it anyway. David used to be able to go with me but since his schedule has changed our paths only cross at night when we both finally get home or on Sundays. We both liked it better when he was off on Saturday and got home every afternoon before I did, as I could depend on him to help me when needed. But such is life and things do change and we adapt.
As a kid, the best thing about the fair was getting cotton candy and a candy apple. We weren’t allowed to eat them both at the same time however. I guess mom was afraid we would be bouncing off the walls from all that sugar. Back then everyone eagerly anticipated the fair and looked forward to going and talked about it weeks before it came to town.
As an adult I enjoy the concerts and running into people I haven’t seen in a while. It never fails that I run into someone from another town where I used to work at the newspaper. I even ran into someone from Richmond Hill one year.
The fair is fun for children of all ages, but to me it is overrated. I don’t see the need to spend all that money that people spend. I also believe that it hurts some of our businesses as people will save money for the fair and not spend it in town. Yes, it pumps up the economy in the town were it is located and we are happy for them.
I can no longer eat most of the fair food and while I do still love cotton candy, I avoid sugar as much as possible. Now the candy apple is another story. After all an apple is a fruit and fruit is good for you, right?! And the roasted corn is a vegetable and I can eat that too.
The agricultural and 4-H exhibits are usually great and I do enjoy looking at them.
We did attend the Alabama concert this year. While I was torn between choosing Alabama or Rascal Flats, I figured there wouldn’t be another chance to see Alabama again. The guys aren’t spring chickens anymore. The concert was good and David and I enjoyed it. He was impressed they didn’t have an opening or closing act and played and sang for almost two hours without a break. I was taken aback a little about how old Randy looked because I hadn’t seem him in a while. But his voice is as strong and sounds as good ever.
I sat next to a lady who was at the concert because her sister loved Alabama and had died and so she was attending the concert in memory of her sister. She and her husband had moved to the area from Colorado and had we not been at a concert, I would have liked to hear more of her story.
When the bottom fell out of the economy, numbers attending the fair were down but I expect there will be reports of record numbers this year because it took us about an hour to get into the parking area. We parked it seemed, in another county and we walked into the fairgrounds. Thankfully, my walking during the week paid off and there was no problem doing the walking.
We had tried to go a little early so we could walk around a little, but that didn’t happen and there were so many people everywhere when we got out of the concert that we didn’t do any walking around afterwards either. I was going to get a candy apple but the line was so long, I decided I could live without it.
David doesn’t really like crowds so doesn’t enjoy the fair. I’m not a big fan of crowds either.
One thing which usually signaled it was time for the fair was cooler weather. It seemed as if fair week everything cooled down. Though temperatures were cooler it hasn’t been that cold yet.
I read somewhere that we could expect a colder winter this year and I was expecting it to get cold sooner, but so far that has not been the case.
With the fair gone, October is almost over as well. This month has certainly flown by quickly. Soon it will be time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Christmas decorations and items have been in the stores since August. Even the Christian bookstore had Christmas cards out in August.
We will be downsizing our Christmas some this year. We want to celebrate the real reason for the season and it’s not about how many presents you have under the tree.
If you attended the fair, I hope you enjoyed it. Wishing you blessings and God’s grace this week.
VICTORIA SIMMONS is an author, columnist, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. Contact her at: vsimmons54@gmail.com