Call me in the morning

Law and Order

 Detectives James Arendall & Mike Roland have worked the Tennessee State Fair for twenty-four and fifteen years respectively. They have many good stories to tell.

Yesterday, I wrote for three hours in this very space. It was the best blog post I've written in years. Years. Blogger didn't think so. It didn't bother to auto save the thing a single time in three hours. Then I (idiot) closed my browser window by accident and the whole thing disappeared into thin air. Right after that there was a hailstorm of curse words and rage, driving the original words to the far recesses of my mind. Usually I read the thing so many times I can rewrite it very close to the original but not this time. I don't have a key to the creative door, it just flies open on its own occasionally. I tried to begin again but it'll never be the story it was so we move on.

Meanwhile, check it out: Who came up with 'Close, but no cigar'?

Mugboard 2

Mug board at the Tennessee State Fair 

It is no secret that there is turmoil around and within the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. It's a convoluted story for another day yet at this moment in time I have to wonder why the Fair Board chose to make a decision about rent hikes for next year, three days before the Tennessee State Fair opened. Why not a month ago? Or a month from now? Was someone hoping it would get lost in the cotton candy stories? I don't know but I do know that a rent increase is the weapon of choice for landlords who are shopping for new tenants. If new tenants aren't available well then, the property sits idle. It begins to look bad and people who used to care eventually give up on it.

Rent hike distresses vendors at TN fairgrounds' sites

Waiting to show

I've been trying, with little success to get back over to the fairgrounds. Suddenly work came along and as great as everyone thinks it is to have a flexible schedule (it is, I'm not whining - too much), it does have it's downside occasionally. I've been consumed by one thing or another since last Friday night. Again, not complaining just annoyed. It isn't something I can shoot just any old time. It's like missing a wedding. All you can do once it's over is watch the video.

Observations

North American Midway Entertainment's Century Wheel sits unadorned at the top of the hill in Nashville, just a couple of days before the 105th kickoff of the Tennessee State Fair

Only yesterday I had a conversation with a gentleman about how dismal most media coverage is of state and county fairs throughout the country. A long history of Google news alerts would indicate that news and feature stories about the fair usually fall into three categories: ride safety and/or rigged games, background checks for carnival workers, and what I like to call - the cotton candy story. This includes a wide range of feel-good topics covering everything from blue-ribbon Pygmi goats to deep fried butter. They are rarely original, much less creative.

Fortunately, the Hutchinson (Kansas) News missed the memo.
Two entertaining and worthwhile reads here:

Cab driver's a waiter - as in waiting for fair customers by Kathy Hanks

And, the much lighter yet still interesting: Overheard at the fair

Carnival Junkie

There's a long story I want to write on this page. It's very nostalgic, a true story filled with love and sadness, humor and history and all of the things that make human beings wonderful. The thought of writing it makes me get all clenched up and tearful and much as I'd like to start the morning off with half a box of Kleenex, there's a carnival in town parked over at the fairgrounds. It is set up day and the show opens tomorrow. So the story, the words anyway, will have to wait.