we got to the fair as it opened with desert sun high in the sky: warm warm warm! having grown up in bakingfield, i try never to concede that i'm hot bc then it can be all over for me. better to think cool thoughts, or "it's not that bad," or "could be worse," or be thankful when a little breeze kicks up.
i do love the desert air, even with its discomforts, due to the reward when that breeze does kick up, bathing the sweated skin: natural air conditioning! bedouins & all humans from civilization's cradle, where still it's hot today, know this. convenient things aren't very pleasurable for me, for some reason. i don't like the crowded beach, or new things, or expensive things if unnecessary, or conspicuous consumption, or keeping up with the joneses, name brands, etc. never have, never will. james is pretty much of the same mind, tho not as eccentric as i am on this matter!anyways, we did so much in short time! this fair is close to edwards AFB & has rich aviation/space heritage, so there were replicas of space vehicles & world war planes & history room with pancho barnes & military flyboy heroes, among them the guy who played the drill sergeant in many movies, the one james really likes who apparently was a local son. 20 mule team, mojave desert rocks, geodes, quilts, artwork, vegetables & fruits, 4h goat show, petting zoo, exotic animals, colorful rides, dancing hiphop kids, fair food, happy people, families, children: you gotta love the fair.
we agreed we prefer fairs to amusement parks, which tend to be overpriced (therefore exclusive or encouraging the vulnerable to become indebted) & completely commercialized. the apex of this, of course, is disneyland, which no longer abides "walt's dream," as james has said, although it remains house of the wonderful haunted mansion, which we really love. truly, i don't care to ever go again & think it obscene that people on budgets will spend so much hard-earned money to get the park fastpass. yesterday in the desert getting gas, we saw a disheveled woman with a fastpass bumper sticker on her broken-down car. i know disneyland is a happily-ever-after fantasy for many, but its marketing brainwashes too, too many to live way beyond their means, & i guess that's what the american dream has become & its just another example of corporate takeover of the american mind
... sigh...
the best parts of the fair for me were having shaved ice with james while people-watching; seeing the dashing mariachi troupe, their first song so beautiful & poignant, my tears flew; the exotic animals such as tortoise, bobcat, serval, binturong (or bear cat, like the rufus thomas song!)... and a young tiger, breathtakingly beautiful, supple with muscle! many of the animals already had gone home, since our trip occurred late in the fair, but still we saw goats, rabbits, llamas, & two of the most beautiful cows i've ever seen. they gave off such an aura of peace & gentleness, i realized unless they are served to me in someone's home or i am starving, i should no longer eat them.
well, back to schoolwork & housekeeping. we have such a good life these days. may yours be, as well.
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