Sometimes it occurs to me how lucky I feel to have grown up in a small town and how lucky i am to live there and raise my children there. There are, of course, times it occurs to me that it might not be such a great thing, but those usually involve being seen doing something I shouldn't or looking really bad doing something that I should. All in all, I count my blessings that I was born and raised in a place that is not so small town anymore, but still not a big town!
I love the fact that my children will walk down the hill and across the same football field to graduate. I hope they love every minute of it as much as I did and I hope they carry as many great memories and lessons through life that I hold so dear in my heart. I love that my kids really can't get away with much, because "Mama knows everybody and they tell her everything!"
I love having a radio show talking about hometown things and people and that people love listening to it. This week we were on the historic square in Charlotte Tennessee for the Charlotte Festival and we had a blast. Next week we are at the Fair to kick off the 86th Dickson County Fair. How fun is that?
There are so many fun, fun memories in my mind that involve the fair. When I was growing up, we got out of school on Friday of Fair Week for Fair Day. You could ride the bus to the fair and the bus driver would wait all day, while all the kids rode rides and ate food and then at 3:00 you loaded the buses and went home, no parents involved and everyone was safe, no one was murdered or raped or kidnapped. The worst thing that happened was that you rode rides till you puked, which I did EVERY year. My mother always joked that she had no worries about finding me at all, she knew I would be slung over a fence at one of the rides throwing my guts up. I seriously believed every year that THIS was the year that I would not get sick...never worked out. I still love the fair, but I pass on the rides. I can't even stand to watch the rides!
Nothing smells better than all the smells of the food at the fair, bar b que, cotton candy (like real cotton candy made on the spot), candied apples, lemonade, frito pie, fresh corn on the cobb, yummmmmmmmm. Oh and the barns, I LOVE the exhibits. I grew up on a farm and I guess the truth is you can take the girl out of the farm but you can never take the farm out of the girl. There is such a sense of home to me about all the cows and other animals and the vegetables and fruits. And, of course, the socializing.
Now I have to say that on some level, attending the fair is a good reminder not to get too uppity in how you view yourself. Many a comedian has made a good routine about the quality of people you can run into at the fair and they are all pretty much dead on in their descriptions. Jeff Foxworthy has a routine that I have heard so many times I could do it on a stage myself and it still brings me to tears to hear him do it, because I relate so well to it! At some point you just have to smile and realize that these are your people...it can be quite humbling!
So I'm smiling as I head into the week looking forward to "goin to the Fair". I can't wait! Maybe I could ride the round-up...
