WELCOME TO THE FAIR!
I was reminiscing the other day about my first experience at a county fair. I was just about to turn 13 and
was invited to go visit my best friend Bill’s grandma for a few weeks. Bill’s dad drove us there in the
family station wagon for what seemed like an eternity, and finally we were there. Bill and I were from
the busy city, and after a couple of hours on the first day, we were feeling stuck and bored in this little
southern Illinois town with what seemed like nothing to do.
That is, until we met the girl next door named Squirrel. OK, her name wasn’t really Squirrel, but we gave
her that nickname because she climbed trees better than any boy we ever met.
So, Bill and I immediately took a liking to Squirrel and began to compete for her attention, and ultimately
her affections. She pretended to lack interest in either of us, which made us both try even harder.
Grandma had been watching Bill and me and obviously thought we needed something else to be attracted
to, and so she handed us both five bucks and told us to get showered and dressed, ’cause we were going to
the county fair. Both Bill and I were overjoyed that suddenly there was something to do, and we hurried
to get ready. We were even happier when we learned that we were going without grandma. Wow!
The county fair was an eye-popping experience for two big-city boys who had never really been off on
their own. We went on rides until we were ready to puke. We watched as farm animals were being judged.
We tried our luck at the various carnival booths to win glittery prizes. We had a blast for the entire fair
week!
On the final night of the fair, Bill and I had just arrived at the fair when we saw Squirrel coming over with
a bunch of her girlfriends. She walked right up to me and planted a kiss on my lips, my very first kiss. Bill
seemed disappointed but soon struck up a conversation with one of Squirrel’s friends, and we spent the
rest of the evening walking around together, riding the rides, laughing together and showing off for these
two girls.
Wikipedia says that the origin of fairs was an opportunity for the people of the community to come
together and “show off,” an opportunity to see what the others work hard at and accomplish.
There is a great deal of friendly competition at the Logan County Fair. This competition helps us to see
how we stack up and who we are. One of my friends remarked on her Facebook page that she had just
Table of Contents
“Turned in my pics for the Logan County Fair...hope I win
SOMETHING! Lots of good pics out there already!” In the
midst of this friendly competition, we learn something about
other people and learn a lot about ourselves.
I learned something the summer I turned 13 at that county fair in
southern Illinois. I learned that I really liked girls and was ready
for that next kiss.
Welcome to the fair!
[By JIM YOUNGQUIST]
2013 LOGAN COUNTY FAIR. A special editon of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com July 30, 2013 page 3
