We Are Fair People

I don't remember much about the conversation, but a student once told me, "Monson, we [his family] are not fair people." His tightened face was smeared with disdain.

Wow. Not only was he turning his nose up at the Iowa State Fair, he had put those who attend one of Iowa's most celebrated events into a category. And he considered that category of people beneath him. I was a little offended by his attitude.

That's certainly not a viewpoint that we're going to teach Charlotte. We love the fair! In fact, we like attending the local county fairs as a warm up. A couple of weeks ago we drove over to Adel to check out the Dallas County Fair.

I had thought we'd spend our time looking at the animals in the barns, but the free entertainment was too good. The first show was the Pat Davison and Family circus act (juggling, plate spinning, hula hoops, and unicycling). Char thought they were cool. Up next was illusionist Adrian Van Vactor. His act was sharp, and his illusions were impressive. Char turned and told me, "He's magic."

In between the two shows, we visited balloon artist Mr. Nick for a princess crown.

Since the carnival wasn't open, Char was content to take a horse ride. 

When the ride was over the owner encouraged Char to brush the horses that weren't in the lineup. She spent some time making Wild Thing "pretty".

We shared some freshly cranked ice cream, and then it was time to go home. What a fun and easy-going afternoon. The only hiccup was that Char didn't want to leave, and she got upset as we walked to the car. That didn't last long, though.

Now that I think about it, I shouldn't have felt offended by what my former student said. I should have felt sorry for him. Look at all the fun he missed.