The County Fair

When I was just a hometown kid the county fair came round each fall and I would ride the easy rides and wonder what went on inside the tent down near the end where men would gather like chickens after corn. I'd ride the easy rides and stay within my brother's call as I was told to do. It took me years to deem myself a man and dare to lift the musty skirt of that remotest tent and swagger to the ticket booth of deadly fun. But how the thing did climb and dive, it made me appreciate being alive. And the girls in the corner tent? Why they were that much better, my eyes were that much older, my eyes were that much wetter.