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Life On The Midway


If my memory serves me well October was the month when the county fair was held.

It was much more than just carnival rides. It was livestock, chickens and the lady’s homemaker and flower clubs’ reputations on the line. It was a time for small town businesses to show off some of their newest wares. And if it was an election year it was time to hear all the local candidates taking their turns behind a microphone.

But for all the young folks the midway was the biggest draw. Merry-Go-Rounds, Tilt-A-Whirls, Ferris Wheels, the Octopus and hopefully a roller coaster were what they had waited all year to ride. Legends were made in small towns across the south on nights when kids rode those strange contraptions. Whatever happened, you did not want to be that one kid that got thrown up on while ridding the Ferris Wheel. No one would ever let you forget it.

Hucksters called out from arcades set up along the outer perimeter of the midway, each trying to drum up business and get your pocket change. Shooting galleries, ring toss, picking up ducks, milk bottle pyramids- all games of chance drawing folks in to hopefully win a stuffed animal or cheap toy.

After a long week of school, picking cotton or harvesting corn folks were anxious to go into town and visit the fair. For a couple of hours on a cool weekend night all their troubles were forgotten.

If anything , this year has been one big, bad county fair. Every day seems like a bad ride and everyone wants off this crazy ride. However, the consequences are far worse than being that one sick kid that threw up on their friends. This pandemic has us all fearing the worst. And instead of local candidates politely asking for our votes from the stage at the county fair, it’s chaos on a national scale as we watch this presidential election unfold. It seems the hucksters in congress aren’t just vying for our pocket change. They are toying with livelihoods and medical care. Whatever happened to bipartisanship? Heaven help us.

One thing is certain. When and if this ride comes to a halt we won’t be getting off at the same place we got on.

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Rick Algood
October 12, 2020

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