Fun At The Fair

I've been wanting to write some longer posts these past few days, but life has been busy busy busy and I have been a tad lazy lazy lazy, so none of those Big Ideas have made it through my fingers and to the screen.

But there. That's good, right? That's a picture of me and the boy at the NY State Fair. Can't post anything much better than that.

This is the second year of our new tradition. We took him to the Fair for the first time last year. He had a blast. Loved it. Ran himself ragged, and then, on the way out, on our way back to the parking lot, fell sound asleep while sitting on my shoulders.

This year, same thing. He had a great time. Loved seeing the animals, doing that big inflatable-hamster-wheel-in-the-water thing, playing games, drawing blood on the darts guy (what was the guy thinking giving a four year old a dart?), riding the rides, eating the food, watching the acrobats. Loved it. The whole deal. Everything.

Looked exhausted the whole time but kept on going. Then, on our way toward the gates, I kept feeling him sort of "hitching" on my shoulders. He fell very soundly asleep, stayed asleep on the bus back to the parking lot, on the ride home.

I've never loved the Fair, hadn't bothered to go in years, but seeing it through a four year old's eyes makes it very, very cool and exciting again. I enjoy not just his enjoyment, but the experience itself.

That, in spite of being very conflicted by the whole thing.

I mean, the debauchery and immorality of it. To me, it's worse than something like Mardi Gras.

I mean, really? Deep-fried Snickers wrapped in bacon? That's not just unhealthy-- that's belligerent. That's like saying, "fuck my body, I hate this damn body, I'm going to destroy it." Row after row of stands celebrating gluttony and self-loathing with deep fried ice cream, deep fried cookies, deep fried alligator meat. And beer beer beer. And lots and lots of unhealthy people lined up to do themselves just a little more damage.

And don't get me started on the dairy building. The butter sculpture. The celebration of veal (because you know, don't you, that every glass of milk is really just a glass of veal?). The obnoxious multi-billion dollar dairy industry lies...

But anyway. No need to getting going on that right now. Nobody wants to hear me preaching.

Just look at the picture of my cute kid.

We had an awful lot of fun at the Fair.