State Fair

I haven't been to the Iowa State Fair for several years, but watching IPTV's hour long wrap up shows of the fair this week reminded me of one of my earliest fair memories. The show featured a woman singer on one of the free stages. She was an attractive blond with a great voice, but she was in a wheel chair. And she couldn't hold the mic because she had no hands. Her right arm ended above the elbow, while the left ended where a wrist would be. It had an appendage something like a thumb. Only one leg and foot were in evidence below her dress hem.
I could see a little girl in the audience watching her and then whispering something to her mother. I imagined she was asking her mom, "Why?" or "How?"
The State Fair was my family's only vacation. We didn't go every year, but when we did go, it was only for a day; ours was a farm family, we had to be home to do the milking and other chores. Going to the fair meant getting up at 4 a.m. to get the cows up from the pasture. Dad & Ron would do the milking, Betty & I would feed the hogs and chickens, Mom would fry a chicken to pack in our picnic basket along with potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans and a cake for our lunch. One thermos jug held water; another, iced tea or lemonade. We had to be entering the fairgrounds by 8 a.m. and it was a two hour drive from southwest Iowa. (Getting there any later than 8 a.m. meant you wouldn't get your money's worth - wouldn't be able to see everything.)
Dad & Ron would take off for the machinery exhibits and the barns. Mom, Betty & I would begin at the conservation building then on to the Varied Industries building, working our way up the hill to the Horticulture exhibits. At noon, we would all meet back at the car for our lunch. If we bought anything to eat at the fair, it was cotton candy. (Always my favourite treat.) By 4 p.m., we were on our way home. There was an evening of milking and chores awaiting.
Just as it is now, people watching was one of the more interesting things to do at the fair. Coming from a small town, we didn't have much diversity. I probably saw my first black people at the fair. And it was definitely the first time I saw girls scantily clad in shorts! (The only time we were allowed to wear shorts was at home.) Going to the fair meant dressing up. Usually it was the first time we wore the new shoes we had gotten for the school year, which meant blisters!
I was probably 8 or 9 the year I saw two dwarf girls. They were about the ages of me and my sister. I was so surprised, all I could do was stare. The older of the two stared right back and I felt ashamed. I know I didn't point them out to my mom; didn't ask why or how, but those two girls haunted my thoughts for a long time.
The singer at this year's fair said one of the reasons she performed was so that people with disabilities could see that it is possible to have a life. She hoped to inspire others to learn what they might be capable of. I admire her.