Having time off is necessary from time to time if one is to
keep their sanity. Some people find some exotic locale and decompress, while
others spend their time in other pursuits. The idea of course is to spend your
days doing something that you want to do, rather than something that you have
to do. What determines this can depend on any number of factors (time, money,
resources,) but hopefully it’s all in good fun and worthwhile. Over the last
week, I spent some time doing just that.
Given my current financial situation, I decided to spend
vacation doing something I’ve wanted to do for a while, which is to go on a
fair and festival tour. Many people don’t really understand this, and I suppose
I can see their point, but for me there’s something intangible to be found in
how a community chooses to gather together and celebrate itself. I don’t know
what it is, but I’ve always been drawn to fairs and festivals. Perhaps it’s
where the soul of a community truly lies.
At any rate, given
the time of the vacation, this tour took me to the Auglaize County Fair, Greene
County Fair, Preble County Fair, Ohio State Fair, Wood County Fair, the Dublin
Irish Festival, and the Indiana State Fair. To say that my feet were killing me
at the end would be an understatement, but I can say that I had more fun on
this vacation than I believe I’ve had in some time.
When you’re at these places, you get a feel for the
community. It’s values, goals, and ideals, and in addition to that, you can see
what the community puts up as an example of what it can do. Additionally, many
of us here in Hardin County get a somewhat jaded view of this sort of thing
because we have a couple of really good fairs and festivals, namely the Hardin
County Fair, which is awesome, but it helps to see what happens elsewhere.
Perhaps it might even inspire an idea to try in your local community.
But the biggest thing I’ve enjoyed is watching the people.
I find human nature and interaction interesting and watching how people
interact with one another in a large festival is amusing, interesting and
gratifying. Whether it be young girls trying to act older than they are, older
people still going, or young guys with no clue as to what lies in store for
them walking around with an inflated sense of confidence.
Some examples: sometime watch how people walk on pathways.
You’ll notice that people tend to walk as they drive, which means that in this
country you walk on the left side of the path at all times. While in Dublin,
there was a line down the middle of the roadway which was being used as a
pathway, and it was amusing to see the vast amount of people walking on their
designated side as if they were driving on the road.
Children are especially amusing. When we were walking into
the Indiana State Fair, I noticed a father and his young daughter walking out
to their car. They were holding hands but the girl (who was four or five) kept
staring wide eyed at the inflatable dolphin that the father had won for her at
a carnival game. The look on her face, which was one of wide eyed amazement and
anticipation of getting a new toy, was really great.
When we’re out and about, sometimes we miss those moments,
ones that we remember, or that hit us at just the right moments. And sometimes
we’re so caught up in our own agendas that we miss all that is going on around
us. It helps from time to time to be reminded of that, and to take the time to
get out in the world and explore if for no other reason, than our own sanity.
This was a gratifying vacation, and I hope to continue it sometime in the
future.
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