The End of the Fair

Today marks the end of our county fair. We had open-to-the-world truck pulls today. The crowd wasn't nearly as large as rough truck. Today wasn't quite as hot as the earlier part of the week was either. Our church has finished it's roles of cleaning the grounds in the morning and parking the cars at night. Tomorrow, the local juvenile delinquents get to clean up the fair grounds. This is one of our major fundraisers at the church. We've been doing it for many years.


Today, nobody attempted to sneak through our area. How do you go from two dozen last night to none tonight. Easy. We had some extra teens, so I had two of them stand (in the shade) over by the area where the majority of the sneakers slip in. Since they could see that they were being watched, nobody tried. There were reports of sneakers in other locations though.


When I got home, one of the first things that I did was take off my sandals. I've worn them all week. My dog came over and sniffed them and walked to the other side of the room. My wife said "Wow, Those really do smell bad. I can smell them all the way over here". I took them and sprayed some Febreeze on them. I have never heard Febreeze scream before.


As promised, here are some pics from Thursday night when I took "The Boy" into the fair to ride rides:

On the way to the rides, we saw some free face painting. "The Boy decided to have a lizard done on his arm. I took a picture of it so he could remember it. I figured he would sweat it off. He did.

This is him on the first ride of the night. Doesn't he look excited?

This is him with a friend he made while standing in line. He always gets in line for this ride, but always chickens out at the last minute. Not this time. He rode it twice. Here is the ride from further back:

That's him in the first car. This thing rock back & forth until it goes all the way around. It goes all the way around six or seven times per ride.

He liked this ride except for the fact that since he was on the outside, he got squished by his buddy from the centrifugal force of the ride.

Here are a couple of short video clips from the fair. The first is the ride that goes upside down that The Boy rode twice. The second id him on the giant side.

Rough Truck Beats Nashville Again

Tonight, Lee Brice & Steel Magnolia played a concert here at our county fair. Some of our parking crew predicted that the crowds would be huge. I don't know if the severe thunderstorm a few hours had anything to do the smaller crowd, but once again, the rough truck crowd was larger. I had a 3:15 doctor appointment. I figured I would be able to make it to the fair by 4:30 to park. At 5:15, I left the doctor's office. At least I didn't get caught outside in the torrential downpour.

There were, however, more people trying to sneak into the fair than any other night. No less than two dozen attempted to sneak in. The vast majority were apprehended by the deputies or the horseback patrol. The lucky ones were escorted to the gate to pay to get in, or leave if they couldn't pay. There were other who had charges pressed against them. The fine is more than the $5 saved. I really don't understand it. Five bucks. It just isn't worth it.

Flashback Friday # 147

Fair Remembrances

A warm greeting to both of my loyal readers (what, you say I have more than two?) Since this week has found me at the county fair every night, I figured that I would rehash a few memories about some of the times that I went to fairs. This is a rambling remembrance so please try to follow along.

There was a time when I was but a lad, that Dad took me to a street fair at our county seat. He knew one of the concessionaires, so I got to cheat a bit on the dart throw. I got to stand inside the booth instead of in front of the counter. I popped three balloons and won a purple teddy bear.

Another time Dad & I ventured to the very fair that I have been working this week. Dad also knew a couple of the carnies there. At any of the rides that they worked, I didn't have to surrender any tickets. Free rides, what kid wouldn't like that? However, there was one ride that frightened me. It was the swings that go round & round, high & fast. During this ride, I began to slip out of the seat. there was only a lap bar, so if I continued to slide out, I would have been flung from the ride. I hung on for dear life. I was very relieved when the ride stopped. I never rode that ride again. As we were leaving, still with plenty of tickets in hand, a father & son were heading in. The boy asked his dad if he could ride some rides. Dad said, "We'll see what the prices are." Dad looked at me, I looked at Dad, and we both said, "We have some tickets that we didn't use. Do you want them?" It really made that kid's day.

Finally, "The Gravatron" was one ride that I really liked. Whenever I had a chance, I would ride it. I liked lifting my legs up while being pinned to the wall going round & round. Once, as this ride was coming to a halt, an Amish or Mennonite boy not too far from me, surrendered his lunch. How very glad I was that the ride had stopped. I can't imagine him doing that during the ride. Yuck!

Thuuuurrrsssday waaass ssllloooowww.

Today was a really slow at the fair. Figure 8 bus races and antique tractor pulls. Our spot at camper village could have held at least 4 times the cars that were there. The heat index was 103, and the sweat was rolling off me today. I was thrilled when they called parking off at 7:30. That gave me a chance to take "The Boy" into the fair to play games & ride rides. He had a great time. More about his fair goings later on , I promise (I even have pictures to post).

Rough Night For Rough Truck

Day four of the county fair is done. Tonight was "rough truck". To those who don't know what that is, let me explain. There is an obstacle course set up in front of the grandstand. Holes, barriers, mud. At the end, is a large hill in which the contestant is to ramp their truck off of. Whoever completes the course in the fastest time wins. This draws rednecks from all the surrounding counties because everyone likes to see someone else tear up their vehicle.

We were just as full back where my crew was parking as we were last night. The only difference was that there were NO areas cordoned off. Yes, we put that many more cars in that area. Sorry there are no pictures tonight, we were a mite busy.

We had quite the issue with teens trying to sneak into the fair by the area we park. No less than 17 attempted entry over the fence. My daughter, The Ogre, used her "Mom Voice" to dissuade several from crossing the fence. She would holler "Don't even think about trying to climb the fence!" The Sheriff Deputy said that they had apprehended 10 people who sneaked into the fair. Those people were charged with trespassing and kicked out of the fair for the duration. It just isn't worth trying to save $5.00 by sneaking in.

Tonight is usually the largest crowd. Some say that the entertainment on Friday, Lee Brice & Steel Magnolia will bring a larger crowd. I don't know. I've told folks before, I doubted if Garth Brooks could bring a larger crowd than rough truck. Except if he was going to tear up his truck on stage. That might make a difference.

Day Three Is Done

Today was supposedly "the quiet day" at the county fair. Harness racing was the featured event at the grandstand. Usually that means a small crowd. Not tonight. There was also motocross at the back arena. In making a motocross course, they had to cordon off a large chunk of parking area. Those who usually parked there parked back in my area.

Not only did we have those who were displaced by the motocross, but there was also a large area cordoned off for a life flight helicopter to land. They wanted to be ready if a motocross rider was seriously injured. We filled the area all the way to the back fence, and started putting cars along the side fence.

While parking along the side fence, a study in contrasts came about:

You can tell how tall the truck is by looking at the PT Cruiser to the left. The Corvette to the right looks absolutely tiny.

Near the end of our shift, the Life flight chopper came in to land. We all gathered around since none of us had ever seen a helicopter this close up before. While watching it land, my grandson's hat was blown off. He thought that was really cool.

Day 2 Is In The Books

The second day of our county fair was a mite busier than yesterday. Today was the demolition derby. I've always liked demolition derbies but as soon as we were finished parking, I was finished with the fair. As Ziva from "NCIS" would say "There were many redthroats there tonight." On the way out, there was a van that caught our attention. One of the ladies said that we should get it for our new church van. Here is a picture of it.

Let the Fair Begin

Today was the 1st day of our county fair. That being said, it also marks the 1st day of our annual church fundraiser. We met at 3:30 to park the cars. Tractor pulls were tonight, so the redneck crowd was fairly thick. I got to take my crew up to camper village, which is one of the further points away from the fair. In the morning, A crew (of which I am not a part of) will assemble at the fairgrounds at 6 AM to clean up the grounds. We've been doing this for many a year. One day down, six to go.

Flashback Friday # 146

Don't go in there

Welcome back to my rememberances & ramblings. Today, narrative deals with the closest I came to getting hazed by upperclassmen.

School had only ben in session a few months at this time. I walked into the boys restroom to relieve myself during the time to change classes. When I walked in, there were about seven Seniors in there at the time. One of them grabbed me by the arm and said, "Here's someone we can have fun with." I was dragged to the middle of the restroom.

The way the restroom was designed, there was a large clearing, since there were no stalls whatsoever. It was almost like a prison restroom. If a teacher walked in, he could see everything going on with one glance.

I hadn't paniced yet, but anxiety was rising fast. Then, I don't know why, the lights went out. Total darkness except for a faint glow near the door. I jerked my arm free and made a beeline for the door. I figured I could hold it until class had started, so these guys would be in thier classes. While everyone was working on an in class assignment, I asked for the hall pass. When I got there, the restroom was empty. From then on, I always asked for the hall pass if I had to go. Never again would I venture in between classes.

No Idea

Does anyone have a clue why gas prices are doing what they are doing? Yesterday, on my way to work, I saw something strange. I pass three stations on my way to work. The prices, in order were $3.68, $3.38, and $3.55. Normally, in our small town, gas prices are within a few cents at every station.

I heard this explanation on the radio. "When gas prices are high, people drive around, not buying, in hopes of finding a cheaper price. Lack of purchasing drives prices down. When the prices are down, people rush to fill up. More purchasing drives the price up. It's all supply & demand. The consumers themselves are driving up the prices.".

Sure. That's why oil companies continually post huge profits.

Hot Enough For You?

Like so many other places here in the good ol' USA, It is hot here. In my factory, it is generally 10 dergees hotter inside than the outside temperature. At our other plant is is closer to 15-20 degrees.

When it is this hot, we generally get an extra 5 minutes added to our breaks. The other day, we asked if we were getting the extra 5 and were told that we only get it, if it is 95 or higher. The question was asked, "Is that 95 outside or 95 inside?" There was no response given.

Flashback Friday # 145

1st Homecoming Dance

Hello, good to see you again. As you can see from the title, the topic of the day is Homecoming. Since I was on Student Council, I had a part in the festivities.

As a fundraiser, the Student Council sold Homecoming corsages. I took my turn manning the table taking orders. I also took my turn at the table passing them out once they came in. I even bought one in hopes of being able to give it to my date.

The first person I asked was Doris.She turned me down. She was a Senior, after all. Perhaps I had set my sights too high.

I then asked the girl that I had been writing secret admirer notes to. She had already accepted an invitation from someone else. two rejections. I wasn't going to ask anyone else.

I decided to give the flower to my mom and go to the dance stag. My cousin (one of Aunt Shelly's kids) was going stag too, so he offered me a ride. Supposedly if you go stag, you can dance with anyone because you don't have someone holding you back. That's only good if you are able to muster up the gumption to ask someone to dance. I never did.

At the end of the dance (always a slow song), a girl asked me if I would care to dance with her. She was a Sophomore. I had seen her in school, but I didn't even know her name until I looked it up in the yearbook when I got home. I later found out that she had a boyfriend, but he had been too sick to make it to the dance. He told her to go and have fun.

I should have worn a name tag that said HELLO, My Name Is Wallflower.

The Drama of Facebook

One of the biggest reasons that I don't have a Facebook account is the drama that accompanies it. "Why didn't you accept me as a friend?" "Why did you delete me from you friends list?" "Why did you write that on my wall?" "Why did you post that picture of me?" Please! If I want drama, I'll watch a soap.


By the way, this pic is my latest front page picture on the Cheezburger site "Historic LOLs".

Happy Birthday, Lady Nottaguy-TYG

My wife's birthday is today. She will be 29.99 plus shipping & handling.

Flashback Friday # 144

Would You Like To Go To Church With Me?

Greeting friends. Welcome back for some more ramblings.

When I was young, I didn't attend church very often. There was a church about a mile down the road. Aunt Shelly & her kids went there. Every once in a great while my cousins would talk me into going with them. As you can tell from Flashback Friday #50, I didn't go often. Most of the time it was only if prizes were being given away.

When I was a Freshman, one of the Senior girls asked me to go to church with her. I knew her because her sister used to be married to my Aunt Bonnie's oldest son. After they divorced, she married a guy whose mother was very devout, and attended church frequently.I always thought Doris was cute. I really didn't care to go to church, but to spend time with her, sure, I'd go.

The first service I went to was a youth rally in Westerville. At Aunt Shelly's church, everyone was silent & somber. The folks made about as much noise as the folks in the graveyard beside the church. Not here. People shouted and danced in the aisle. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. There I met her pastor, who knew a couple of kids from my High School, even though his church was in Mt. Gilead.

Her home church was having a movie series on the end times. She invited me to each of these, and I went to them all. Their church was a small apartment over a store. You had to climb a large flight of stairs to get there. I can understand why they called it "The Upper Room". After the last movie in the series, Doris stopped going to church, so naturally I did too. I didn't think much about those few church services until about two years later (and that's a Flashback Friday all it's own, or maybe a few)

I didn't see much of Doris after that. I would see her in the hall by times. Whenever Sir Gattabout would come home on leave from the Army, Doris always made it a point to see him (I think she liked him all along). They last time I saw her was about 25 years ago on a delivery route through my hometown. She was tending bar at the local watering hole. How sad.

Two In One Day

I hadn't had a front page pic on any of the cheezburger sites for a while. Today I got two. The first one was on "I has a hotdog"

The second one came on a new site called "Superheroes"

The 4th in West Virginia

Over the 4th of July weekend, Lady Nottaguy-TYG & I made the trip to West Virginia for her family reunion. Since we left early Sunday morning, traffic was minimal. We made good time and only saw a few Highway Patrol cars I only went 5-10 miles over the speed limit).

We made it into Hinton earlier than we thought, so we made a side trip to Sandstone Falls. This is a really beautiful area.

We then went to Lady Nottaguy-TYG's cousin's house. I thought it was something special that a newlywed couple would not only invite us to spend the night at their home, but they also gave up their bed & slept on the fold away couch. They were "folks", which is a high compliment in my books. They also had a cute, rustic cabin that they lived in. I was really taken with the bathroom.

Not pictured was the showerhead (located behind the crescent moon outhouse door). It was a watering can with a large head. Whimsical and practical.

We didn't get to stay at the family reunion quite as long as we wanted. A nasty storm front was moving in. We figured we had better get a move on so we wouldn't be on the mountain when the storm hit. As we were heading for the freeway, I asked my wife if we should get some gas (we had a quarter tank). She didn't like the price & said we would stop closer to Beckley.

Needless to say, we drove into the storm. Rain came down in sheets. The speed limit was 70 mph, we were driving 40 mph. The trip up Sandstone Mountain really frightened me. Not only was the storm bad, but the effort exerted on the car was great. Halfway up the low gas light came on. When we got to the top, and hit the closest gas station, I put 12.46 gallons in our 13 gallon gas tank.

There were more storms all throughout West Virginia. Once we got back into Ohio, there was only one storm, then sunny skies. It was a long trip, but we enjoyed ourselves.

Flashback Friday # 143

Mrs. Danielson


Greetings once again. Sorry the blogging has been slow this week. I promise you the week hasn't been. Last week I gave you a glimpse at one of my favorite teachers as a freshman. This week we look at perhaps the strangest.

To look at her, Mrs. Danielson looked like any older teacher you would see in any school district. She was about five years from retirement. It's what happened earlier in her life that set the strange tone to our Freshman English class (she also taught Honors English).

The story that I was told is that several years ago she came home and found her husband dead. He had hanged himself. As expected, she didn't take it well.

The impact that it had in class was that every novel or short story we had to read in her class dealt with someone getting killed. Not just in our class. Every class. I can remember reading "The Lottery" (a town holds a drawing to see who will die to insure that the crops will grow), "The Cask of Amontillado" (Poe's tale of a man being bricked up alive inside a wall), "Moby Dick" (Ahab's insane quest to destroy the creature that took his leg) and "The Most Dangerous Game" (A big game hunter hunts people because animals no longer challenge him). She also was able to find these stories on film, so we got to watch the people die as well.

The most memorable thing about her class was during the time we were watching "Moby Dick". The student council was selling Atomic Fireballs during lunch to raise some money. At that time, they cost a whopping 2 cents apiece. Since I was on student council, I took my turn behind the sales table. Just before lunch was over, I bought 50 cents worth of them (That's 25 for those of you who can't do math without a calculator). Back then I loved them. Today I can't eat them because they give me intense heartburn.

But I digress. My class with Mrs. Danielson was right after lunch. While the classroom was dark, I began to pop fireballs into my mouth. Carefully I unwrapped the cellophane and snuck it in. My best friend, Bart, caught on to what I was doing and paid as much attention to me as he did to the movie. I wanted to see just how many fireballs I could get into my mouth. I got to 10. I got to 15. At 20, I was just barely able to keep my lips together. Drool seeped from the corner of my mouth. I looked like a chipmunk. When the bell rang, I was one of the first out of the room. Luckily I had study hall next, so I was able to finish my mouthful of fireballs.