We don't need their kind here.

So the fair was in town last week, and I didn't participate. My county fair is everything that's wrong with fair's around here:

I see the same people at the fair that I see at the local bars. This isn't a bad thing, because they are all good people, but I might as well save the entrance fee and the over inflated beer prices and just go to the bar.

No national, big name entertainment. It would be nice to see our county book an entertainer of decent value once in a while. I'd even settle for some has-been entertainment. Afterall, I went to see REO at a neighboring county's fair.

Same stupid demolition derby. For the record, I don't hate the demo derby, but it's just never that good.

Same crappy and unsafe rides. Of course I saved the best for last. The older that I get, the more that carnival rides scare me from a safety standpoint. When I went to the other fair I refused to go on at least half the rides simply because there was good chance I could die. I'm not that big of a wimp either, I've been on the rides in the past, I've been on roller coasters and stuff like that, but I think you just have a fighting chance if you go to a place like Six Flags where rides don't get loaded onto a truck every week and moved across the state. I'd venture to say that the inspection process is more accountable at Six Flags. Oh, did I mention that our very own fair had a ride accident last week? Yeah, the damn ferris wheel decided to come apart or something like that... with people on it. Here is the headline from my hometown paper:


Carny injured in Ferris wheel accident

The Ferris wheel, a 40-foot-tall 1948 Eli Bridge Co. model, apparently became unstable, Chad Duchow, the carnival owner, told a Door County sheriff’s deputy. When the wheel started to sway, he said, it could have hit the support tower with enough force to knock loose a bolt holding a passenger basket from its moorings. The dangling basket then damaged several bars and cables, at least one of which struck Fonda.
Courtesy, Door County Advocate


Now, you've got to love hick-town papers like mine. Can the guy be a carnival worker or perhaps a fair employee? Hell no, he's a Carney! If the local paper can be believed, there were no riders injured.

So yeah, that pretty much sums up why I don't do the fair thing anymore. I'm sure I would've gone if I had my kids here, but I'm not sure if they would like the Ferris Wheel. I don't see them liking it and I certainly wouldn't have encouraged it.