Thursday, November 10, 2011

What The HECK?!


It was the perfect night for the fair in that it wasn't cold but it wasn't hot and the sunset was beautiful as were coming in and then that full moon rose up over the midway.


Jessie had left earlier and I couldn't really seem to shake my sadness at seeing her go but what can you do? There's that boy and he needs a hip, a hand, and there are my beautiful daughter and her sweet husband and that man.

I took Magnum's advice and found the corn dogs with the buttermilk batter and shared it and a lemonade with Mr. Moon. Finest corn dog I ever ate.

We got right to the animals and Owen finally got on the pig's back (it's not real! we keep reassuring him) for a photo op.

He wasn't so sure.
He wasn't so sure about feeding the animals either but we all helped him.

I just wasn't that impressed with the chickens this year. Oh, sure, there were some fine ones but none more fine than mine. There was one called "naked neck" and whoever set out to breed that poor creature should be shot. I was as embarrassed for the chicken as the chicken was embarrassed to be alive and I did not take his picture.
I was, however, delighted to take pictures of all of the sideshow art. I love that shit. No, we didn't visit any of the sideshows. I'd rather just take the artwork's word for it and imagine it in my mind.
Less of a disappointment and not nearly as sad.

We all rode the Ferris Wheel. It was a beautiful thing.


As Owen said, "It went into the sky."

After the Ferris Wheel, Owen wanted to win a fish. Last year they won two and one of those fish is still alive in a tank in Owen's room and he's huge. HUGE!
This year no fish were won but there was a good time to be had, just trying.

Then we went back to the Merry-Go-Round. It was a newish one, but a pretty one and Owen loved that. His daddy stood by his side and I rode next to him.

Towboy Owen. Yeah. He wore that hat almost all night.



Except when his Bop was wearing it.

A good look for both.

And then we found the kid rides. Quite frankly, I thought the dinosaurs went too fast for Owen. And were too bumpy. That he would be scared. The video I put up last night proved THAT to be wrong. After that, he had to ride the stage-coach. Then the dragon roller coaster. All by himself. And he loved them all.

It was time to go. We had enough tickets for one more ride. He wanted to go back to the horses. And so, we did.

This time with Bop and Mama.
He wanted the same horse. He got it.

He fell into an eye-opened coma as soon as he hit the car seat. I tried to keep him awake by asking him questions about the fair and he would answer me but it was like talking to someone in a hypnotic trance. I hope he slept very well last night. I hope his mama did too. She'd gotten up at four-thirty in the morning to go to work.
I don't know how she does it.

So it was a good night at the North Florida Fair and today I have a dentist appointment at ten and Mr. Moon is leaving to go to Tennessee for a week to hunt and I am not sure how I'll make it here without him, despite vast experience that I have before. Of course it's supposed to get down to 34 degrees here tonight and I have done nothing in the way of protecting plants. I suppose it shall be up to the gods.

As will my fate. I am usually fine with the idea of him leaving. Less laundry, less cooking, less everything.
Including kisses and his arms around me. The peace of having him in bed next to me. The knowledge that he will be coming home as the light goes out of the sky every evening.

Well. I've promised to go wait tables at the Opera House on Friday and Saturday night. That'll get me out of the house. And I'll have Owen some and I'll...oh hell. I don't know. Eat salmon.

Be lonely. Drink gin and tease my hair and wear a white slip and sit on my front porch and scream at the children passing by.

Probably not that last part.

Maybe I'll clean house and plant pansies. Maybe I'll weed in the garden.
I'll probably stay up reading too late every night.

Whatever I do, I'll be here when he gets back. Life is so strange. One minute it's bursting at the seams and I can't keep up with it all and the next minute it's quiet and the old floors of this house seem to lead on forever in their emptiness and that's okay too.

My chickens want out. I need to eat something. This is the way of it. I cannot become un-anchored and fly off the planet, no matter how much it feels that way sometimes. I am not the Teeny-Tiny Woman and my hands are far bigger than two inches across and my feet are a size eight and they keep me pretty grounded, here on this ground.

As Owen is wont to say these days when he is amazed: WHAT?! WHAT?! and even twice now that I've heard him, "What the heck?"

I am constantly amazed at how it all works and spins and flies and settles and gets cold and warms up and that there are eggs of blue and brown in my hen house, warm and ready to tuck into my pocket to bring inside and place in a white bowl on my kitchen counter.

The fair will move on, but here we are. Over and over again.

17 comments:

  1. That fair sounds gothic -- I love the posters, couldn't face the real thing.

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  2. I would HAVE HAD to see the headless woman. HAD TO.

    I dig Mr. Moon, wearing Owen's hat. It's a good look for him. Laugh.

    A corn dog sounds great this morning.

    Love you. Thanks for sharing the fair with all us office-bound slaves.

    SB

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  3. Voici des souvenirs d'instants de bonheurs partagés, mis en mémoire pour de nombreuses années.

    Roger

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  4. Looks like a good time at the North Florida Fair. Owen seems to love the rides, which is a good thing...
    Your daughter looks so nicely pregnant. Nice blog entry.

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  5. Beautiful photos ~ oh, the sky in those first two and the horse dancing into the clouds! Love the ferris wheel and Owen's shining face and Lily's gorgeous smile. Such an evening at the fair!

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  6. Owen going into the sky made me happy.

    You on your porch in a slip and yelling at kids made me laugh.

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  7. Magic moments. And you have the picutres to prove it.
    I love the idea of Mr. Moon going away for a week. That means you will miss one another. Then he will come home.

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  8. The fair is so much fun. Glad that you enjoyed it. I understand that deafening silence when the house is quiet and no one is around to fill it up.

    It will be 39 here tonight. I am okay with the sudden chill as there won't be a killing frost.

    Have a good day.

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  9. Fun! Fairs wear me out but it's worth it for the photos, isn't it?

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  10. I haven't been to the fair in years. My favorite area to first go to is always where the animals are. Check out the 4-H projects and maybe catch them showing their pig, goat, or cow. I can't help but feel proud for them even if they aren't my kids.

    Oh I love all the photos you shared and Owen in that hat is just precious. He'll have fun with that hat many, many times.

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  11. I love this post -- because of your writing, mainly and the gorgeous photos of your spectacular family, but also because it brings me as close as I'll come to going to a carnival. I'm grateful for that.

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  12. Wow such gorgeous pictures. I love them. So glad you didn't take a picture of that poor chicken.

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  13. i love this post, even with its melancholy tones. it reminds me that it all happens together, the fair and the going into the sky, and the moody quiet of the floorboards stretching through your house, holding all the memories, and missing all the people, but knowing they will come again. love will always bring them home.

    your family is just gorgeous. that owen.

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  14. Love these carny and fair fun photos. Looks like y'all had a good time, though I can certainly understand your sadness at having Jessie leave to go back home.
    Keeses. N2

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  15. Your pictures of the fair are wonderful, I love the lights against the sunset, the boy in his hat, your happy family, all of it. Thanks for taking me with you. I would not want to see the people those posters depict either, for the same reasons, but the artwork is fascinating.

    I hope your time solo passes quickly, and that you do whatever the heck you want to while you're on your own. I hate when my Mr. is gone too, but I kindof like a break from judging myself by what I got accomplished daily too.

    And I'm stealing WHAT!?! for a while too, hope you don't mind.

    The wv is mellyz. That's me.

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  16. Jo- There is nothing more photogenic than a fair.

    Mary LA- It was a pretty chill evening there. Lots of parents and kids.

    Ms. Bastard-Beloved- That's a great hat for both my boys. I think it is. Love you, babe.

    Le Chemin- You make me wish I spoke French. Welcome. You have a beautiful blog.

    Photocat- He DID love the rides. It was a very sweet evening.

    lulumarie- I thought that horse dancing into the clouds was pretty sweet myself.

    Stephanie- I swear. One of these days I'm going to do that.

    Denise- Well, he is gone. So I better miss him!

    Syd- Stay cozy.

    Nicol- Photos and a grandchild. Other than that- forget it.

    Ellen- I went into the 4-H exhibit but I didn't get to spend a lot of time there. It's one of my favorites too.

    Elizabeth- Believe me. I was dragged there.

    Bethany- Oh, honey. He was so sad.

    Angella- It's all about all of it, isn't it?

    N2- I was glad to be there, I was glad to leave.

    Mel- Great v.f. for you! Yes, steal whatever you want. And I completely get what you mean about judging yourself on what is accomplished daily. It is a break.

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