Corndogs and Cotton Candy

Corndogs, cotton candy, and county fairs. This is stuff that holds American families together.  Think about it.  When you go to county fairs and see people eating corndogs and cotton candy, there are always kids near by. Some are chronologically gifted children who have been around awhile, their grey hair thinning and their girth a bit wider, but the others are the reasons we go to the fair–the real kids in the crowd.  Corndogs, cotton candy, and county fairs exist for the young ones with spasms of laughter in their bellies, kindness in their hearts, and waves of anticipation as they wait to ride the “Hammerhead.”

For country folk like me, county fairs are a nostalgic event.  They remind me of a time in our country when family values meant something. There is something special about seeing kids proudly display their “colors” and getting the support of their parents.  Unlike the troubled inner city teens locked in a downward spiral of gangs, violence, and death, the kids of the county have found value in wearing the green of the 4-H gang and the blue and gold of the FFA gang.  I wished more kids wore these colors and belonged to these types of gangs– the kind of gangs we think about when we remember Spanky and Alfalfa.  Gangs of innocence and fun.

County fairs are about our communities.  They help us to recognize goodness in our lives.  It is important we pick young girls to be fair queens.  It helps them grow up to be confident, self-assured women.  It is appropriate we reward the “cattleman of the year” at the fair.  Afterall, that is likely where he spent some of his childhood–in the feed allies and showrings at the end of a stick and leadshank showing cattle.  It is right that we dedicate buildings to home economics and farming.  Displays of food and fiber remind us of the splendor of American agriculture and the art of producing delicious pies, intricate quilts of cotton, and jellies that make your mouth water.

I could go to a fair, never get past the livestock barns and get as many thrills as riding the bobsleds, or farris wheels.  But these thrills are different.  More subtle.  Slower, less manic.  I get a thrill out of seeing a barrow that looks like Schwarzenegger, a lamb that braces like a statue, or a steer with a coat of velvet and a top as thick as a NFL linebacker.  It is exciting for me to see a 13 year-old 4-H’er know how to handle a pair of Listers and a set of parents confident enough to leave the kid alone.  I enjoy walking through a barn with the hum of the fans, the coolness of the misters, and the electricity of excitement that comes from knowing the show is about to begin.

More people should eat corndogs and cotton candy.  While you may disagree about the effects they have on your heart, I hope you’ll agree they are good for your soul.  Corndogs and cotton candy help us remember the kids–­the ones trapped in the bodies of CEOs, registered nurses, schoolteachers, computer programmers, and all the other folks whom long for a simpler, slower time.  Corndogs and cotton candy help us share with our children the rich agricultural heritage of our communities captured at the county fair.

Eat up, have a big time at the fair, and I’ll see you in the winner’s circle!