The Weather Leaves a Lot to be Desired

It's fair week. Which means that weather in Somerset County is not good. It's traditionally the worst weather of the entire summer. And you've got one of two things going on. Either it's 90 something degrees and sweltering, or it rains. All week. Some years you get lucky and have a mix of heat and rain. Those are the good times.

This year it's rain. In fact, in the 30 odd years I've been involved with the fair, this is the first time I remember them ever cancelling the grandstand attraction and closing down the rides. And this is the second day in a row it's happened! Mud puddles have merged together into small ponds, and the ponds are now merging into one large lake that is covering the entire fair grounds. So far the animals are managing to stay dry inside the buildings, but they can't stay dry much longer at the rate the rain is coming down. Flash flooding yesterday washed roads out and it's difficult traveling back and forth.

One has to wonder at the commitment level of nuts like ourselves. Of course, we have to take care of the animals we've hauled over, but why on earth do we put ourselves through this? Every year! And then we fondly look back on it all in a few months and laugh and say "wow, remember..." Kinda like childbirth. As brutally horrid as it is when we're living through it, we tend to forget the pain and rush into doing it all over again. We're demented, I tell you.

So today is the pig show and we're headed over in a few minutes to wade through the muck and chase pigs around an enclosed arena. It's actually hysterical to watch the kids because these pigs have been in small pens for days and the chance at freedom in the arena is more than they can calmly take. They run, kicking and snorting, from one end to the other. The kids try to keep up in vain and some never get to "show" their pig at all. So much for the showman award! A few unlucky kids will have thier pigs lay down and root in the sawdust and no amount of poking and prodding will move the contented porker. The utter humiliation of this is what helps kids grow character.

I'm beginning to see why we look back on Fair Week as a nostalgic part of childhood. And why I know all the parents at the fair. One can't live through the experience without sharing it with their offspring. And I've gained a different perspective as an adult. Being a farming community, and being that everyone knows everyone else, it's the friendlies place around. The random acts of kindness done at the fair are not even surpassed at the joyous Christmas season. It's what brings us all together, helping each other through the puddles.