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County fair
Aug. 10th, 2008 08:16 pmAnother county fair, since we live right on the edge between two counties. Boone County has a much larger fair because until recently it was still a much more rural area. The fairgrounds are owned and operated by The Grange and have been in the same place forever or nearly so. They have a huge horse show that runs all week, focused on draft horses and ponies, no ordinary sized horses at all. Saturday is the big day for horses because that's when they show all the hitch teams, big and little. It's great fun to watch but this year we couldn't go until Sunday.
I counted in the three "commercial" buildings just to see. There were no less than four chiropractors pushing their services. More politicians and religious groups than I wanted to bother counting, and other than that the usual hucksters selling "magic non-stick" pots, storm windows, and all kinds of quack gadgets to "purify" your water or air or whatever. Time was when there'd be a dozen sellers of cheap toys, embroidered goods, and printed t-shirts and sweatshirts, but not any more. Many, especially the real estate dealers, were trying to coax people to give their name, address, and number to be entered into a drawing for $50 or $100 in "free" gasoline. This seems like a new angle. At one time they might have offered a pair of tickets to a ball game, or a paid weekend at some hotel in Chicago, but now they think that free fuel is going to be a big draw. Sign of the times, I suppose.
The horses were beautiful, as always, at least the ones that were still there. Many had already pulled out, the competitions being over for this year. We noticed more wool sheep breeds than in the past, which I liked. In the rabbit barn there were some English Angoras, first time I've seen those since ten years ago. There were also an increased number of English Lops, the rabbits with ears so big they ought to be able to fly. (Instead, they probably trip over their own ears all the time.) Gary was looking for runner ducks to buy, and at least got a possible lead on some.
Boone normally has had four times the amount of needlework and related crafts as are found in McHenry, but their entries are dwindling too. They did have lots of vegetables and fruits, but the baking and canning seemed reduced from past years as well.
One other thing I was acutely aware of: it's true. Americans are getting morbidly fat. I've never seen so many hugely fat people in my life. I'm no little wisp myself, but I'm talking about folks who make me look like Twiggy. I can still wear normal clothing, where these people must have to shop at specialized places to get size 60 waistlines and 4XL t-shirts. You can guess where I saw the most of them too. They were all lined up to buy things like huge gooey cinnamon buns, cream puffs, greasy donuts, and so forth. Gaaah. At this rate I predict the question of social security and medicare will become moot as the average lifespan decreases significantly from heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
I counted in the three "commercial" buildings just to see. There were no less than four chiropractors pushing their services. More politicians and religious groups than I wanted to bother counting, and other than that the usual hucksters selling "magic non-stick" pots, storm windows, and all kinds of quack gadgets to "purify" your water or air or whatever. Time was when there'd be a dozen sellers of cheap toys, embroidered goods, and printed t-shirts and sweatshirts, but not any more. Many, especially the real estate dealers, were trying to coax people to give their name, address, and number to be entered into a drawing for $50 or $100 in "free" gasoline. This seems like a new angle. At one time they might have offered a pair of tickets to a ball game, or a paid weekend at some hotel in Chicago, but now they think that free fuel is going to be a big draw. Sign of the times, I suppose.
The horses were beautiful, as always, at least the ones that were still there. Many had already pulled out, the competitions being over for this year. We noticed more wool sheep breeds than in the past, which I liked. In the rabbit barn there were some English Angoras, first time I've seen those since ten years ago. There were also an increased number of English Lops, the rabbits with ears so big they ought to be able to fly. (Instead, they probably trip over their own ears all the time.) Gary was looking for runner ducks to buy, and at least got a possible lead on some.
Boone normally has had four times the amount of needlework and related crafts as are found in McHenry, but their entries are dwindling too. They did have lots of vegetables and fruits, but the baking and canning seemed reduced from past years as well.
One other thing I was acutely aware of: it's true. Americans are getting morbidly fat. I've never seen so many hugely fat people in my life. I'm no little wisp myself, but I'm talking about folks who make me look like Twiggy. I can still wear normal clothing, where these people must have to shop at specialized places to get size 60 waistlines and 4XL t-shirts. You can guess where I saw the most of them too. They were all lined up to buy things like huge gooey cinnamon buns, cream puffs, greasy donuts, and so forth. Gaaah. At this rate I predict the question of social security and medicare will become moot as the average lifespan decreases significantly from heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
