The Fair. It is so weird. Fried food, carnies, farm animals, zucchini dressed in outfits, grubby kids high on cotton candy and caramel apples.
I volunteered at the Planned Parenthood pro choice booth with Chelci on Friday night at the fair. And with my pregnant tum, we got some looks. I loved it. I had an amazing conversation with this fifteen year-old kid from Fort Worth, Texas who was confused about my being pregnant while sporting a pro-choice temporary tattoo. He told me that I needed to make up my mind. He confessed he had been raised to believe that pro-choice meant pro-abortion. Seriously? I cannot believe people tell their kids such lies but with GWB in his second term, well, I guess nothing really surprises me much anymore. So we talked for like ten minutes about how I would love to see less abortion and more education in the school system. How I would love to see a federal government that gave a rat’s ass about parents after this child is born–heath care, maternity and paternity leave. I like this site.
It was a good night and I felt great about the chat I had with that Texan who called me ma’am.
After, Andy and I walked around and looked at award winning tomatoes, fine art and floral arrangements. I ate corn on the cob that I swear was boiled in butter, fried cheese curds and a polish hot dog. At the fair, everyone wins with a ribbon.
We played a game in the art building where we each had five minutes to pick out the piece we would buy if we had to. Andy really liked the Jesus pencil sketch, but landed on funny cat. I picked the pint sized pup with small circus creatures.
Our friends, Meg and Pete came to town on Saturday. In the thickest, eye-burning smoke on Sunday, the boys went fishing and we went to the fair. It is the first time I have been to the fair twice in one season. I was psyched to go back because I had forgotten my camera on Friday night and there isn’t anything quite as photogenic as the fair.
Meg wore a pig hat that declared she was having a squealing good time. In the art building, she liked the one-eared bunny and the goldfish. She wowed everyone with her dart popping abilities and won a small, foul smelling dolphin that she graciously gave to a darling little boy.
6 Comments
This brought so many fond memories of my yearly visits to the Missoula County Fair! In fact Uncle Skip and I were just talking about it while backpacking last weekend. I wonder how I ever trusted the ride operators enough to go on the rides? Love the pigs!!!
xo, Momma
OH and the Sweet Llama! did you take this photog for me?
i love the smiling pig.
The smiling pig! I know. He is my screen saver at work.
Sounds like the confused adolescent from Texan learned an important lesson! Props to you, Nici, for offering your presence as the perfect embodiment of what reproductive choice is all about: family and community values. Reproductive choice continues to be threatened because too many people insist on the narrow view of choice solely as a woman’s issue. Choice needs the support and attention of mommies, too! Thanks!!
I can’t say I’ve ever dressed up my zucchinis, but sometimes I dress up my dog. And I have grown zucchinis in plastic forms so they grow to have little heads and faces on them, or look like corn on the cob. I know, weird. But I like weird.
Great post. I love the fair.
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