All things fair

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Before I get started this morning — congrats to RtB poster Meg, who was elected Homecoming Queen last night at the football game. YaAaAAay for a fellow Finkite — we heart her.

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The county fair has been here this week. I didn’t get a chance to go, but boy, I used to do the fair bigtime when my kids were little.

And when I myself was a tiny fink, we used to do the carnivals every chance we got. I don’t mean county fairs (I can’t even remember going to a bonafide fair — the kind with ani-mules and baking contests and ribbons and royalty and such — until coming to Ohio in ’73) but rather the carnies that came to town. Mavis and I, along with a gaggle of friends, would look forward to being dropped off at the carnival and staying all day, into the evening hours.

Fellow crusties, do you remember when these were THE rides to ride for every daredevil in town? Long before upside-down roller coasters were the norm, we feasted on these, of the Wonders of Physics/Vomit Comet variety. If you could ride all of them at least twice in one night and not hork your dinner everywhere, you were a champ indeed…

Octopus. They still have these at a lot of the major theme parks.

The Rock-O-Plane and the Roll-O-Plane (we also called it the Bullet). Awesome thrill rides.

The Rotor -- one of the scariest for me, especially when the floor disappeared.

Ah yes, the Roundup, with its accompanying question: If someone barfed, what are the chances....?

Still see these everywhere and in different colors. I like the old silver.

I get woozy thinking about this one.

The Matterhorn or Himalaya. Bad memory here...almost lost a 3-year-old Lars on this one.

The number-one most awesome carnival ride EVER. The Zipper.

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Thanks to all the FlickR sites and other places from which I janked these photos. A nice Saturday retro experience for the crusties.

OK fiends. Enjoy your weekend, because it is now officially about half over. Yay.

FO

10 thoughts on “All things fair

  1. BoomR

    We’re celebrating the opening of the State Fair of Texas (www.bigtex.com) This year’s fried delicacy is “Fried Butter” – yes… you hear it right! Doesn’t the thought of that nauseate you? It’s bad enough we have fried Oreos, fried Nutter-Butters, fried Twinkies, fried pickles, etc. etc., right?? Regardless, keeping with the theme of “everything’s bigger in TX,” this is really quite an event & lasts for about a month here in Dallas. Y’all come down, ya hear? :-)

    Reply
    1. BoomR

      Oh, lordy. There is a new “Food Finder” feature on http://www.bigtex.com

      I did a find for “new food items” and used keyword: fried. At the Midway concession stand #19, you can feast on the following cuisine:
      Fried Oreo
      Fried Pralines
      Fried Marshmallows
      Fried Snowball
      Fried Honeybun
      Fried Snickers
      Greatest Fried Pies
      Fried Apple & Peanut Butter on a Stick

      …and the Big Tex Choice Awards Finalist:
      Fried Peanut Butter Cup Macaroon

      That’s some good eatin’ ain’t it? :-)

      Reply
      1. Rat Fink Post author

        I did read about this a couple of weeks ago! Yowza…and people were raving about the Snickers, saying it was delicious. (Sadly, I’d probably agree!) And I must say that fried marshmallows sounds DANDY

        Reply
  2. Artilius Merchclod

    Sorry you’ve got bad memories on it….but The Matterhorn is my favorite. Besides the disaster transport…its the only Cedar Point ride I will ride.

    Reply
    1. Rat Fink Post author

      I like the Matterhorn. I just didn’t like it when my son started to slip out on to the floor and out of it, despite having the safety bar locked down. My hand grasping his arm was the only thing keeping him in.

      Reply
  3. Meg

    Thanks, Fink, for the shout out! I am *STILL* smiling :) And thank you for all of your support. You are aweeesome! Pictures coming soooon…

    Reply
  4. Mavis

    My husband was born and raised in Texas. Born in Waco, grew up in Dallas. When I first moved there, we went to the Texas State Fair every year. We like the “old fried food” standards. Fried okra is still Rickey’s favorite stand. I always sought out the fried cheese stands. Best stuff in the world. But, there is no BBQ on the planet like Texas BBQ. BBQ brisket on a stick is to die for! Ahh memories….

    Reply

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