The Never-Changing Van Wert Fair

Last night we took our annual pilgrimage to the Van Wert County Fair. Pam and I have been going for, we figure, 18 years now. At least. Started before we got married. Last night we went with my brother Rick and his family.

Food is the main attraction. Always the same stuff from the same places, in the same order. I got two sandwiches from Ragers--sausage, and bologna. Fiske fries came next. Then a funnel cake. Then a bag of roasted almonds at an outrageous price. And finally, the famous cherry ice cream. Everything is always in the same place as the year before. Mom says the cherry ice cream stand is located in the same place it was located when she was a kid, which goes back at least, uh, 20 years.

I climbed over a bunch of tractors with Cameron, Rick's son, who must be four or five at this point. I can never remember. One old, restored tractor still had a key in the ignition, a mistake by the owner, I'm sure. Cameron, who routinely pulled every lever and flipped every switch on every tractor, was quite surprised when he turned the key and the engine turned over.

I have gobs of relatives in the area, but didn't see a one of them. Did see Ed Gebert there, the guru of Attention Span.

People complain about how slow churches are to change. Well, I've got news for you. Nothing changes more slowly than the Van Wert County Fair. And despite all my progressive harpings, I like the fair that way. Should I appreciate slowness-to-change more in church? I'll have to think about that.

Posted on September 4, 2006 05:04 PM|

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