as i said, i was going to accept any marriage proposals at the fair, and i did, and the drive down to the farm was very pleasant, and the marriage ceremony very festive, and i’m going to make my own belated wedding cake later on. happily ever after!
of COURSE i didn’t get married.
actually, nobody proposed. not even any offers to go home with anybody. well, not at the fair, anyway…people at the hospital are always asking me to go home with them, but i always say no.
i was mighty busy giving massages at the fair, and i did get something better than a marriage proposal – i got a brownie! i’ve been doing this at the fair for three years now, and the people who run the bingo area at the Illinois building have come to me whenever i’ve been there to get a massage. there are at least five or six of them.
yesterday, they brought me a delicious homemade brownie, which was much tastier than the banana i was going to have for my snack.
i saw a true cowgirl there – she was wearing scuffed, old boots, and a big wide belt with a HUGE belt buckle. i mean, HUGE. i’ve never seen a teenage girl with such a large belt buckle. she looked cool, in her definite cowgirl-ness, not like those dorky guys you see sometimes with their dinner plate-size belt buckles that just make them look foolish.
after i worked, i walked around the fair a little. there was an article in the paper about fair food (the food is the main reason many people go to the fair), which mentioned a chocolate fountain. i’ve seen chocolate fountains before, but the idea of one at the fair was highly appealing. it was in the exposition building (not the EXHIBITION building, as i erroneously called it and can’t ever remember which it is), and i had three perfect strawberries dipped in the chocolate fountain. you don’t get to dip them yourself, because think of the mayhem and mess that would ensue. there was a choice of strawberries, bananas, or marshmallows, for three dollars. for five, you could get a piece of chocolate-dipped cheesecake, i think, but i didn’t want to go overboard. i hemmed and hawed (it used to take me upwards of 45 minutes to make a decision at the dairy queen), and decided that banana was something i have all the time, so dipping it in chocolate wouldn’t be that different. marshmallow sounded delicious, but almot too decadent (is there really such a thing). i was up in the air about strawberry – good in theory, but what if the berries weren’t good?
they were.
i sauntered over to the dairy building, and thought about getting some ice cream, or perhaps an eclair, but decided i needed a little break from sugar. the new butter cow looks good, but there is also a butter 4-H kid standing beside it, holding onto the cow with a rope.
THE 4-H KID LOOKS FRIGHTENING AND COMPLETELY DEMENTED.
his grin is horrible, kind of leering and scary, and his eyes look like he’s been doing lots of some kind of drug (methamphetamines?), or he’s posessed by satan. very scary. i’m glad he wasn’t there when i was a kid, because i’m sure i’d have had bad dreams about him for the rest of my life.
there’s also a butter dog, which is ok, and a little butter cat, which looks kind of deformed.
but like i said, the cow is good, better than last year, when it looked too angular.
i walked over to the coliseum and watched the horses. draft horses and mules it was. the clydesdales are SO HUGE. i like to watch the drivers of the buggies, because many dress up, but you can tell it’s just something they’ve thrown on after peeling off their jeans and boots. one woman had a sparkly dress (the dressed mostly look like they’re from the 70s or the 50s), and dusty-looking flat shoes. the shoes really give them away.
many of the wagons were very fancy, with the owner’s name in huge gilt letters, but that didn’t seem to matter with the judging. it’s all about the horses.
there were only two teams of mules, and then out came the miniature horses. they were adorable, those tiny little horses, parading around the track. one of the little wagons had two people riding in it, and i felt bad for the horses; why were they expected to carry all that weight? but they didn’t seem to mind.
i had a dollar corn dog (delicious) and a cone of freshly fried french fries with vinegar. Culler’s french fries, the best at the fair.
i walked around a little more so i wouldn’t drop dead from the grease intake. it was a beautiful day, but after a while i decided it would be more fun to walk around with somebody, so instead i went home and realized i was extremely over-tired.
ok then,
grace who may remember to take some photos the next time i’m at the fair (friday).