Now that the election is over we can all breathe a sigh of relief. No more barrage of unwanted phone calls just as we sit down to dinner. No more taping every single TV show on the planet so we can fast forward through the political ads. We haven't escaped however, the analysis of how it turned out the way it did.
What the research says is that the American landscape is changing. The educated white man no longer rules. In fact he's in the minority. People I grew up thinking were minorities are now the majority. That's what makes America great in my view of the world. But did we really need to spend millions of taxpayers dollars to tell us this? No. The journalists only need to visit the local carnival to see what's happening.
Yesterday was a picture perfect day here in Florida. The Space Coast State Fair was in full swing over at the stadium. The stadium is so close that at night I can hear the fairgoers screaming while they enjoy the many rides. With nothing better to do Richard and I decided to take in the festivities.
We paid our admission fee and stuck our arms through a hole in the booth so the ticket taker could put on our wrist bands. Next the Gideons handed me a pocket bible. And then there we were smack dab in the middle of a world of carny barkers, spinning rides and fair food.
Richard and I are fascinated by the game barkers. The games haven't changed much. Ring toss and guess your weight are still dragging people in with the lure of a big bright colored stuffed animal. In the stand up the bottle game, the prize is an ipad or a Wii. I don't think too many of those are handed out. The rides still spin but have different packaging like dragons and hanggliders. I have vertigo so no rides for me but it's fun to watch the kids smiling after a trip on the Tilt-A-Whirl disguised as a magic carpet ride.
It's the food that amazed me. I've never been to a fair that served egg rolls and fried rice. The brightly colored booths also sold chicken wings, pizza and fruit smoothies. The pizza smelled delicious but I was determined to have what I consider real fair food. We had a hard time finding our tried and true favorites, a sausage and onion hoagie and funnel cake. But when we did. Oh my! Wash it all down with a diet coke and I was in seventh heaven.
After we ate, a trip to the port a potty was in order. I pinched my nose before entering but I didn't need to. It was clean and actually smelled pretty good. They've got the air freshener part fine tuned. And don't forget the hand washing station. I didn't feel like I needed to take a bath the second I exited the portable bathroom.
I wanted a fair that took me back to my childhood. But young people today can't even imagine a world with out pizza and chicken nuggets. To attract a diverse crowd even the carnival knows it has to change with the times. I enjoyed this new version of the state fair. The circus, the bulls, sheep herding and even a Flying Wallenda climbing a 100 foot pole entertained me. I got my fix of junk food.
And guess what? There wasn't a fried Twinkie anywhere to be found.
What the research says is that the American landscape is changing. The educated white man no longer rules. In fact he's in the minority. People I grew up thinking were minorities are now the majority. That's what makes America great in my view of the world. But did we really need to spend millions of taxpayers dollars to tell us this? No. The journalists only need to visit the local carnival to see what's happening.
Yesterday was a picture perfect day here in Florida. The Space Coast State Fair was in full swing over at the stadium. The stadium is so close that at night I can hear the fairgoers screaming while they enjoy the many rides. With nothing better to do Richard and I decided to take in the festivities.
We paid our admission fee and stuck our arms through a hole in the booth so the ticket taker could put on our wrist bands. Next the Gideons handed me a pocket bible. And then there we were smack dab in the middle of a world of carny barkers, spinning rides and fair food.
Richard and I are fascinated by the game barkers. The games haven't changed much. Ring toss and guess your weight are still dragging people in with the lure of a big bright colored stuffed animal. In the stand up the bottle game, the prize is an ipad or a Wii. I don't think too many of those are handed out. The rides still spin but have different packaging like dragons and hanggliders. I have vertigo so no rides for me but it's fun to watch the kids smiling after a trip on the Tilt-A-Whirl disguised as a magic carpet ride.
It's the food that amazed me. I've never been to a fair that served egg rolls and fried rice. The brightly colored booths also sold chicken wings, pizza and fruit smoothies. The pizza smelled delicious but I was determined to have what I consider real fair food. We had a hard time finding our tried and true favorites, a sausage and onion hoagie and funnel cake. But when we did. Oh my! Wash it all down with a diet coke and I was in seventh heaven.
After we ate, a trip to the port a potty was in order. I pinched my nose before entering but I didn't need to. It was clean and actually smelled pretty good. They've got the air freshener part fine tuned. And don't forget the hand washing station. I didn't feel like I needed to take a bath the second I exited the portable bathroom.
I wanted a fair that took me back to my childhood. But young people today can't even imagine a world with out pizza and chicken nuggets. To attract a diverse crowd even the carnival knows it has to change with the times. I enjoyed this new version of the state fair. The circus, the bulls, sheep herding and even a Flying Wallenda climbing a 100 foot pole entertained me. I got my fix of junk food.
And guess what? There wasn't a fried Twinkie anywhere to be found.
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