Similarities and Differences

Sky Ride

Thursday, August 17

I am not ready to go back to school tomorrow. I don't want to adult tomorrow. I'm not ready to work in this high of a district where they literally have everything. I don't understand these people, and they won't understand me.

I remember the last day of summer when I was a kid, and I remember calling it the "last day of freedom". I've never felt more in tune with that phrase than right now.

Ava has been talking about the Iowa State Fair for awhile now. I think my county in Alabama had a county fair, but I don't think it was anything to write home about. I don't even remember if it was a thing for goodness' sake.

I don't like big crowds. They don't really give me anxiety, but they're just annoying. I mean, parking does, but that's beside point.

When we walked into the fair, I knew that this was going to be a good day, even though this morning was very gloomy and cold. Ava was annoyed that I made her wear a jacket.

We just walked around to every place and had a ball.

Can someone explain to me why one of the main attractions at the Iowa State Fair is a butter cow? I mean, Alabama had some pretty weird things going on, but a butter cow? What's the point? I mean, kudos to whoever took the time to work on that, but that's lamer than me writing this blog.

Okay, and, y'all, what is up with eating things on a stick? Ava had a freaking smoothie on a stick. Let me tell ya, it didn't work out too well. Who puts a melting thing on a stick if it's something you can't eat in less than a minute? Like, who does that?

Now, I will say putting a pork chop on a stick is a good idea because then you don't have the hassle of using a knife and a fork, and you can hold your coke in one hand and your pork chop in the other. That's actually smart.

So about a million people go to the fair a year, so that means, roughly 100,000 go everyday if the fair goes on for about ten days. (This isn't an exaggeration.) When we were on the sky ride, Ava was chewing gum. A sky ride is basically a ride that looks over a fair or an amusement park, kind of like a ski lift. When she looked down, she opened her mouth to say something. Then I saw this older guy with a ponytail who had a leather vest and tattoos. He was holding a beer, and I kid you not, the gum that Ava was chewing fell into this guy's beer. Of all people.

This dude jumped, spilling some of his beer on his vest, cursing loud enough for us to hear, even as we were moving away. We could just see him trying to figure out what happened. Ava and I looked back at him, trying so hard to fight a laugh. When he saw us looking at him, he flipped us off, and Ava and I just burst out laughing, immediately looking straight ahead, unable to contain our ourselves.

About an hour after this incident, Ava and I decided to sit down for a nice bowl of ice cream dots because it was mid-afternoon, and we were getting tired. We needed energy from ice cream. What I really needed was a big 32 ounce jug of Mountain Dew, but Ava wanted ice cream, so I went with it.

We sat down at a picnic table, and then all of a sudden, a guy with a leather vest came up to us. I thought he looked familiar, and then I realized we had had contact before. It was the guy that received Ava's gum.

This guy was big. And by big, I mean, he looked like at 65-year-old football player who also rides motorcycles for fun. His tattoo on his bicep was of a naked mermaid. He reaked of smoke, and his eyes were darker than his soul. His accomplice, another man who looked just like him, wasn't much friendlier.

He looked directly at my henna tattoo that Ava had talked me into getting on my wrist. He snickered, rolling his eyes. "Man, get the real kind of tattoo."

When he talked to me, I think my heart fell to China.

Ava leaned closer to me, and I honestly didn't even know what to do. Man, I sure hoped security checked this guy out before he entered the fair. This guy sure looked like he carried a gun.

Then the guy cracked a smile, looking at Ava. "It was you, wasn't it?" Ava just looked at me, and then back him, also not knowing what to say. The guy sighed, "Well, I got a free beer out of it, so I'm not too upset."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "There ya go."

"I still didn't mean to," Ava said sheepishly.

"It's all right, sweetheart." This guy had to be from the south. I could just tell by his actions and accent.

Next thing I knew, this guy and his friend just started talking to us like they knew us, and they offered to buy me a beer about five times. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was a good time.