"In a way, you are all number one, in a much more real way Barney is number one" - The Simpsons "Deep Space Homer"
In a way, this is post number 100 on the blog. In a much more real way, it is not. The Load and I have written 100 posts, but not all of them have been published. Some need more polishing (if you can believe we have standards for what is put on here!) and others probably will never be posted. I think this is published post #90.
On Sunday, we went to a local fair. It was very well attended, perhaps too well attended. Huge lines for everything. We only were able to hit up a handful of attractions while we were there, but each one makes for somewhat of an interesting story:
1. The Face Painters. My girls love getting their face painted, so I have quite a bit of experience with different vendors. Usually, attractions that are popular for kids like zoos and aquariums employ some very talented face painters. They charge more than I am comfortable with forking over, but I tend to have no willpower when it comes to my girls. They usually do an excellent job and are very fast. On the other end of the spectrum, at certains fairs or festivals you tend to see people setting up a booth on an ad hoc basis. Typically, these are people that are new to the business and probably have never done face painting before. Usually these people charge very little or no charge. Such was the case at the fair. These two high school girls were doing god's work, for no charge. They were determined to give each child a special experience. Unfortunately, this meant that they were extremely slow. So we waited and waited. It wasn't so bad for the girls, there was a big grassy area next to the face painting area where they went to play. The most amusing part of the whole experience was the Dad behind me. He kept saying "This is ridiculous" and "Why the hell isn't this line moving" Things I was certainly thinking. Of course his wife had to do the delicate act of calming him down, while not pushing him over the edge. Entertaining dialouge. When it was our turn, there was a detailed Q&A before any paint was applied to the face. It was truly customized, down to what color glitter the girls wanted with their paint. The other thing I noticed is that you could request whatever the hell you wanted. This is also different from the commercial places that have a set menu of options. If the girls didn't know what you were requesting, they would look it up on their phone, further increasing the wait time. Still the girls got their faces painted and those two face painters seemed to be tireless, never taking a break.
2. The Petting Zoo. The line for the petting zoo was so long that you didn't simply filter through it. Rather, they employed the exact opposite strategy of the face painters. There was a set number of people let in for exactly five minutes. You could spend those five minutes however you wanted, but that was all you got. I was waiting in line for the pony rides, so did not get to experience it first hand. But, apparently the guy who was running it ruled with an iron fist. It was truly a whirlwind experience. That line did move quite quickly though.
3. The Carnies. Bella likes to go on faster rides now, not just merry go rounds. So she wanted to go on a ride that was essentially swings that went round in a circle pretty fast. Unfortunately, Erin was too short to ride, and she was furious about it. So while Bella was having the time of her life, Erin was balling her eyes out and trying her best to squeeze through the fence and get on the ride. Fortunately, Erin is as quick to cheer up as she is to fly into a rage, so as soon as it was over she went on the Merry go round and was a happy camper. The last ride we went on was this mini rollercoaster. Both the girls were tall enough, provided that Erin rode with me. Typically, carnies are not known for their attention to detail or being safety oriented. We had the exception though. He only let one kid in at a time and had his own personal measuring stick and followed the height restrictions to a T. He was not taking any guff or sympathy, he had no problem turning a kid away if he missed the cut off by an 1/8 of an inch. But apparently, once you got on the ride, all bets were off. He told me that I would have to sit next to Erin, but she of course wanted to sit next to Bella. So, they sat together and he let it slide. He also had no problem with me sitting sideways in the car in front of them so I could watch them. He didn't even make me buckle up. I think his theory is that he was simply the gate keeper, once people got through it was out of his hands. The girls loved the rollercoaster and were happy to leave after that. Which was good, because we had been there for hours!
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