My Fair Memories

Let me start by saying that I'm glad that we get some kind of fair in Billings this year. I know that Great Falls wasn't so lucky.

From only having enough money to buy tickets for just a few rides as a small child to riding rides until closing time with the wristband that gave you unlimited rides, I must not have minded standing in line in those days. But when you're a teenage boy, the fair is the largest gathering place of teenaged girls, so I went.

I'm not a big fan of the game on the midway where you feed coins/quarters and try to knock other ones off. I really miss the old cranes that cost a dime. Although the prizes were never very good, the feeling of winning something did it for me. Plus 14-year-old kids nee lighters, large dice, and packs of fake tattoos.

Then there's fair food." Viking on a stick, corn on the cob dipped in a butter sauce, teriyaki bowls, Pickle Barrel sandwiches, and the Pizza Hut trailer all got visits from me every year.

I can still eat when I take my daughter and her friends. As a teenager, she and her friends have moved away from the sky slide to the big Viking ship that swings back and forth and that super tall double rocket ride. In fact, I got some great audio of her screaming while riding it last year.

So this year, our bright side is: not only do we get to have a fair, but we get to have it longer and it'll be cheaper to get in. PLUS it won't be as crowded as they enforce capacity.