The Best of Both Worlds

I took Anthony to the state fair on Monday. It was President’s Day and he got in for free. This is probably the 3^rd year now that we’ve gone. Last year with my parents, and the prior year just him and me. I’m hoping to make this a new tradition for us.

It was a great day. Lots of laughing, lots of smiling, just a little whining. We arrived early at the state fairgrounds, just off of I-4, a little bit east of downtown Tampa. It was 10:30 am and everything was just in the process of opening. First thing we did was buy a fresh, big, yeast donut, dripping with fresh icing, from a donut truck. Delicious start to the day that we were able to share.

We strolled through the midway, and Ant was already picking out the games he wanted to play. A basketball hoop and a water gun game stood out. But I stood my ground and said it’s too early, and that we’d come back. He pouted a bit, but soon moved on.

First stop of the day was to see the farm animals and the petting zoo. He saw the area with the sheep and goats, and to my surprise, was very eager to get in there and be with the animals. Anthony shows such care for the creatures around him. He picked out the smallest animals to feed first. He also found a brush and rubbed the back of one of the little sheep for at least a couple of minutes.

From there we made our way one building over to see all the prize chickens in their cages. Lots of beautiful animals to admire. He picked out a few that he found particularly pretty and we snapped a picture or two. Then it was on to see all the cows. They were good looking cows, but still just cows. They did have some expectant mothers (and a few calves were born at the fair apparently) which Ant found interesting.

We left that section of the fair feeling good. Anthony was genuinely interested (at least a bit) and I always feel that need to check off seeing the farm animals otherwise it’s just another carnival.

Next was the Cycle Circus, a bicycle and motorcycle stunt show. Ant doesn’t usually have much patience for this stuff, but he was interested in seeing this. At first he thought it was racing, which is currently one of his favorite activities, and he in fact ran to the bleachers to find a seat. We were in the first row when the bicyclists started their routine. Down a ramp, then up the other side and doing flips in the air. Ant thought it was cool, but was ready for the motorcycles. These came out next and did a trick in a giant iron globe, in which they race in circles inside the globe, driving up the walls. He also thought this was cool but was wanting more. He got it when the bikes did their big jump, they must have leapt 50 feet or so, onto a pad on the ground. Finally, came the coup de grace, a man being shot out of a cannon. I even thought this was cool. Anthony was watching in anticipation as we all counted down. Then a boom, and this guy comes flying out, does a flip and ends up on the landing pad. It happened so fast, that I don’t think Ant really appreciated it, except for the sound when the cannon went off. But he was happy and ready to go.

At this point it was close to 1pm and I thought it OK to relent and let him play a few games. He ran ahead to the midway, desperately looking for the games he saw on the way in that he wanted to play. His head was on a swivel, and I saw some serious looks of worry when he wasn’t finding it. Fortunately I remembered generally where we needed to go. First was a fishing game, where you try and hook some rubber fish for a prize. The girl running it was so nice, and let Anthony have multiple tries at it. For $10, he got two fish and a stuffed animal (I refuse to call them stuffies), a pink shark (whale?). Next we found the basketball hoop. Again, it took him a number of tries but he finally made two baskets- shooting underhand as is his current style- and won another stuffed animal. Or this time, it was actually a stuffed donut. Big smiles on Ant’s face. He loves prizes.

By now, it was nearing 3pm, and it was my turn to pick what we did. My favorite part of the fair is visiting Cracker Country, a re-constructed rural Florida village settlement. The buildings are all made of wood and were all (except for one) brought to the site from other parts of Florida. There is an old church, a train depot, and various other buildings. But the best part is the bluegrass band, Southern Express, that plays throughout the day. They are phenomenal. The way five people, playing real instruments, with every piece of sound you hear coming from the plucking of a string, can make such wonderful music that you want to get up and dance to, will never not be a wonder to me. Nothing pre-recorded, nothing fake, nothing electronic. This was all real. And the setting at the fair makes it even better- outside, trees all around, sitting on a bench, blue skies above, just awesome.

I want Anthony to experience real live music. Real live theater. Real live hiking trails. The future appears to be a virtual one for most people, so its more important than ever for me to inoculate in him a love of the real. I can’t force him to like what I like, but I can expose him to it as much as possible. In past years he would get up and dance. But now at 5 years old, he was telling me he was bored. No matter, it’s only 30 minutes and I made him sit through the whole thing with him. It’s the price he has to pay for riding the rides and playing the games.

Finally, we made it back to the midway and Ant got to run a bit wild with all the excitement of the carnival rides. He had a look of pure joy on his face while riding every single one. I enjoy watching him from the side, and seeing his interactions with all the random children on the ride. He’s not shy that’s for sure. And many of these kids are in groups so he’s having to navigate these conversations one against three or four. I’m always proud seeing this, because I want to raise a son who is comfortable with people. Who likes being around people.

A great day at the fair. I have to wonder how many more years it’ll be like this. Next year he’ll be 6. Soon he won’t want to be hanging out with Dad. I don’t look forward to that, although you can’t change the inevitable. I just have to live day by day and make the most of the time we have.