The local fair, small town America at its best
- Posted by Chris on September 20th, 2008 filed in General, Things I Love
The elitist snobs of the Democrat party have been ragging on Sarah Palin for being from a small town as if it really isn’t part of America. I have news for those jerks, small towns *are* America. The hallmark of small town America is the local fair. For a week, the community is brought together for fun and food on the midway. We went to ours today and here are some pictures.
No, it’s not Cedar Point, Disney or Six Flags, but it’s here and it’s a blast. The Ferris Wheel is always prominent on the horizon.
First up is eating. Yeah, I know, the smart people eat at McDonalds. But even if you eat at McDonalds, you still get hooked by the smells. So I picked this one. The blonde is just visiting. This guy is from Philly and of all the fair food I have ever had, it was the best. And yes, that is his picture on the side. Well, a cartoon of him.
A view of the walkway heading toward the rides.
People on the walkway. All small town folk. Some are righties, some lefties. All mainstream Americans.
All fairs have the money traps, also known as games.
Here are some of the prizes that you won’t win. But you will win a pencil if you play! I couldn’t help think of Sarah Palin when looking at the moose.
One of the cool things about the fair is that you will run into your friends while you’re there. We ran into Keegan’s friend from school and they spent the rest of the day together.
Time for the RIDES! Woo Hoo!
This was a new one, it was called Rockin’ Tug. More like Tug in a Typhoon if you ask me.
The slide is always a big hit.
All I kept thinking here was that Simpson’s episode where Bart used apples to get himself into the roller coaster and the safety bar came down and did nothing. His last words were “That can’t be good” before it took off.
All good county fairs have the redneck trifecta. Wrestling, tractor pulls and a demolition derby. Here are the remains of the demolition derby part.
So now you’re probably asking yourself, Chris, what rides did you go on? Well, none. Let me show you why…
Um, spins. Really fast.
Spins in the air, really fast.
Spins forward then backward, really fast.
Spins while throwing you up and down. It’s called the zipper and/or the chainsaw. No thanks.
Spins while spinning you. 2 directional spinning.
I used to be able to do all these. Back in 93, I took my oldest to one of these and we went on the tilt-o-whirl and then the zipper. I walked off the ride, straight to the port-a-john and after downloading my meal, I proceeded to just watch. Been unable to ride them ever since. I still do roller coasters though. Can’t get enough of those. Anyway, back to rides.
The tilt-o-whirl was a hit for some. That’s Graham in the yellow shirt with his friend from school that he bumped into while walking around.
And a hurler for others. This picture is during the ride. Keegan’s friend is in the shirt and jeans. She wants off. NOW!
Every fair worth anything has bumper cars. Although this reminds me of I-75 going through Detroit.
The girl in the orange shirt was on one of the soccer teams I coached a couple years back. Like I said, a local fair is a community event and the whole town comes out.
The mini-monster truck!
Girl, pony, enough said. Not all rides are mechanical.
Every fair has a pavilion and ours is no different. It’s where the town folk can rent space for a table and advertise their wares.
No southern small town fair is complete without the “Sons of the Confederacy”. I declined the sticker. I’m one of those yank transplants from Detroit.
Heroes abound. Here is the local veterans table.
Different type of hero. The local fire department.
Ordinary people can be heroes too. A non profit to fight community violence.
Finally, the political parties have their tables up too.
Here is the democrat party booth. I talked to the people here and they are wonderful, small town types. The kind that Obama, Pelosi, Dean and the like talk about sneeringly in their DC cocktail parties. Take a good look at this booth. What do you notice? I noticed it right away. I’ll tell you at the end. It’s not the flags. These are patriotic people. I can promise you that there will not be one single flag in a dumpster from either the democrat or republican booth. No, look at the booth and tell me what you notice.
Here is the republican booth. Yes, I bought my McCain/Palin sticker and promptly put it on my van.
So that’s it. The Rowan County Fair version 2008. Where am I going with this? Heck, I don’t know. I guess I’m trying to say that small town fairs are a capsule of a community and by extension America. There are democrats and republicans and indifferents all celebrating their town and their country. I may disagree with them, but unlike their party’s leaders, I don’t think that the local democrats are anti-American or hate the country. However, I refuse to believe that Barack Obama has ever been to one of these outside of a campaign. I refuse to believe his kids ever have. There’s no way that Joe Biden ever has. Hillary and Bill? Maybe when they were governor, but I don’t know. Pelosi? You have got to be kidding me. They talk and joke about the people at this fair in their DC cocktail parties.
McCain? I can believe it but I doubt it (but I’ll bet Meghan has!). However, I don’t think he sneers at us from a loft in Manhattan. I have *NO DOUBT* what so ever that the Palin family looks forward to the Wasilla fair every year. I have no doubt that she walks the midway munching on elephant ears and drinking watered down drinks while her kids beg for dollars for this game or that. She is one of us. If McCain wins, we, the ordinary people, will have one of us in the Whitehouse and that’s way cool.
Oh, and that picture of the democrat booth? Did you notice that there is no mention of Biden at all? No Obama/Biden stickers, yard signs or anything. Only Obama. And they say our VP pick is an embarrassment? HA! Pot, meet kettle…
Have a good Sunday!
GlenF says:
I just rode the McCain anti/pro Wallstreet flip flop ride, and I share your pain. I want to download my lunch too.
rightwingprof says:
There are pics of our fair here, but see particularly the photo of this 4-H exhibit.
Don says:
Someone in southern California passed a rumor along to me be email recently saying that Biden would withdraw from the ticket sometime in October citing health concerns as the reason. Maybe that’s why his name isn’t on the signs. My guess, though, is that Obama thinks he’s all that matters.
Sunday Morning Coffee - MissWisabus.com says:
[...] at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy covers the local fair (not my local fair, but one of the many wonderful ones going on this time of the [...]
Small town people « Living IRL says:
[...] Published September 22, 2008 Uncategorized Chris at my vast right wing conspiracy has a delightful photo essay on small town Americans living real lives in the real world. Not a bitter or clingy thing in [...]
Wry Mouth says:
Thanks for the tour of small town carnivals… our annual Indio Date Festival is one such marvel, a few steps shy of a State Fair, but with most of the trimmings.
Sadly, I mis-commented on the post below about this same thing; feel free to delete the errant comment, which — following an article on Clinton versus Palin — looks a little out of place. ;o/
Noah David Simon says:
that was the best post ever BETH! I enjoyed that so much… you are the coolest. I was wondering if you and your friends could get back to me about some of McCain’s past proposals about Fannie and Freddie. It seems people think that he is somehow responsible. I already have seen the F&F campaign dollars, but that isn’t enough. I need hard evidence of John’s proposal to avoid this loan crises. If it wasn’t bad enough that the bog government people want blood on this, we also have Ron Paul who seems to think that if there were no government at all they could of avoided this disaster. Both extremes are plain stupid. Government can be small and elegant and still keep a dangerous corporations from creating Black Holes that such the universe in. All the angry “Yahoos” are out this week. Aargh.
Greg says:
Right on.
You know, hitting the local 4th of July fair (a life long family tradition where I’m from in coastal Southern California). As I buy cotton candy and fake tattoos of mermaids for my nieces, darned if my mind doesn’t turn to thoughts that small town fairs probably don’t exist in every corner of the country including big cities. Even though I would be wrong about the ubiquitous nature of these events, by extension I assume the Obama and Biden families don’t go to fairs. Then I feel the smug satisfaction that I’m better than people who live in big cities, and the second poorest guy in the senate and the guy who was raised by a single mom in Hawaii are a couple of elitists.
McCain would go to fairs of course, Cindy’s beer distributorship is a main sponsor of fairs. The Palin kids wouldn’t have to ask Sarah for any money, they would be able to spend their oil royalty dividends. Sarah probably didn’t join the family last time they went to the fair. More likely Levi and Bristol went to the 2007 Wasilla fair unchaperoned.
Chris says:
Greg needs reading lessons:
“darned if my mind doesn’t turn to thoughts that small town fairs probably don’t exist in every corner of the country including big cities”
I never said that big cities don’t have fairs. I said that the hallmark of the small town is it’s fair.
“Then I feel the smug satisfaction that I’m better than people who live in big cities”
Never said that either. I used to live in Detroit. Now we didn’t have fairs in Detroit but we had these things called amusement parks. Some were big and some were small, but they did the job. You may have heard of them
“and the second poorest guy in the senate and the guy who was raised by a single mom in Hawaii are a couple of elitists”
Second poorest in the Senate. Funny. That’s like trying to feel like the 500th person on the Forbes 500 is broke. Please. My heart bleeds. Yes, Obama is a flaming elitist asshole. Plain and simple. Biden may not be as elitist, but he is a liar (seen his drunk driver killed my wife story?) and is smug as hell.
I doubt that McCain attended fairs. Even with Cindy’s beer companies.
“The Palin kids wouldn’t have to ask Sarah for any money, they would be able to spend their oil royalty dividends”
Royalties that Sarah increased with her great leadership I might add.
“More likely Levi and Bristol went to the 2007 Wasilla fair unchaperoned.”
Yeah, keep attacking the 17 year old girl. Stay classy Kostard. Oh, is that your mother calling? You left your clothes on the floor again. You’re going to have to move out of her basement if you keep that up.
Thanks for playing, but you’re not a winner this time either. Try again sometime though!
Kevin says:
Great story, great pictures. Something about seeing those kids just enjoying themselves just does a heart good. I recently read that Sarah Palin is regularly seen shopping at Costco, so imagine she’s right at home at the fair. Living in the Northwest is a different thing- I’m from Oregon- Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska just seem to grow a different breed from what you find in the rest of the country, not better, just, different.
I’d like to invite you to visit me as well:
http://www.americanarmed.blogspot.com
Jack Payne says:
I’ve been wondering about that 60,000 attendance figure. If true, this is staggering–for a VP candidate? I write on the con man / politician relationship often. This would outdo Obama’s 75,000 gathering for a Portland, Oregon Primary Speech. And, she doesn’t sound at all like the usual Political Hack Con Man.
Greg says:
Chris “I used to live in Detroit” Yankee,
Congratulations on your country assimilation. What is it about bumper cars that reminds you of the I-75? Little girls with corn rows in their hair?
Chris says:
Golly Greg, you just don’t give up do you? Good for you. Tenacity is something that will carry you far in life.
“Congratulations on your country assimilation. ”
Thank you. Believe me, going from a city of just about a million when I lived there to small towns all over the place was a definite culture shock. But since Detroit was in the crapper, it wasn’t hard to leave it behind. I will say though that when Dennis Archer had the city he had made notable improvements. Unfortunately, people were not appreciative of his straight and narrow ways. Now their new mayor is going to jail. Somethings never change.
“What is it about bumper cars that reminds you of the I-75? Little girls with corn rows in their hair?”
Good grief, you just can’t let race go can you? Um, no, that picture of all the cars piled up reminded me of the fact that you couldn’t drive anywhere in Detroit on their major roads without hitting construction and miles of backups.
You’re still not a winner of the giant moose, but for playing, we have this nice pencil that has the Rowan County Fair 2008 on it.
3 tries for 5 dollars. Who is playing next? Hey you, want to win a prize for the little lady? Come on!
Chris says:
Hi Jack,
The totals have been in dispute, some as low as 30000 and others as high as 70000. It’s why Palin will never be a drag on McCain. If he loses (and I think he will), it won’t be Palin that does him in. It will be his terrible response time to ads and situations that call for a rapid response. More on that coming soon on my next post.