good old-fashioned fun
more on?
This morning we biked up to town to for the special purpose of attending the long-awaited and well-publicized Fall Fair at the Congregational Church, and it would've been worth the trip even if we didn't also have to take some books back to the library. There's nothing like a classic church fair on a warm and sunny fall day to make you think that maybe there might be something to this USA business after all.
There was a bouncy-house just the right size for Harvey to want to get in himself and hop around (they had a regular one for big kids, too), a white elephant sale where he could pick up a bucket of Mardi Gras beads and a pinwheel for only 25¢, crafts, Christmas decorations, and a bake sale. And what a bake sale! There were the traditional individually wrapped brownies and cookies, but also for sale were entire pies, cakes, and tins of goodies. Soup and premade entrees too, but who wants that stuff?! Our eyes were drawn to the lemon cheesecake bars, and while we were initially disappointed to notice that they weren't for sale in single-serving portions it didn't take us long to decide that buying the whole lot—which came in an attractive and reusable Cadbury-themed tin—would be a very reasonable investment at $4.50. Throw in a peanut butter chip brownie to bring the whole thing to an even five dollars.
Now, some folks might be discommoded to suddenly find themselves in possession of an entire tray of lemon cheesecake bars, but fortunately we had the presence of mind to realize that we'd better eat the whole lot as quickly as possible before they could go bad. Harvey enjoyed playing with his beads as we reclined on the couch trying to recover.
Perhaps I wouldn't enjoy old-fashioned church fairs so much if I lived someplace where they were more common—Wisconsin? Ohio?—but in cynical Massachusetts we need all the good old innocent fun we can muster up. And it's even better when I manage to come away without any decorative glassware or lightly used sporting equipment! I'm pretty sure you won't find anywhere else with prices like that for mid-70s-era cross-country skis...