Mayberry At Its Finest

This weekend there was a carnival in town. I live in a small town, only about 500 or 600 people. There is a group in town that is going to build a sports complex, and they brought in a little carnival for the weekend as a fundraiser. It was pretty nice, for being a little Mom and Pop type set-up. There was a Ferris Wheel and a Carousel, a couple of the little kiddy rides- flying elephants and dragons, tiny cars with flashing lights and sirens, etc. There were also a couple of bigger kid rides. My husband bought $10 worth of tickets, but he didn't ride anything. He has a bad back, and didn't think it would be a good idea to risk it. I rode about three or four rides, and took my niece for a couple of rides.

She is about 5, and had an absolute ball dragging my brother from one ride to the next. He didn't go on any of the rides with her, he just stood beside the rides and watched her go around and around. She could go on twice as many rides if she rode all by herself. She'’s young enough to be impressed by all the rides and people and lights. She wouldn't have had any more fun if they had gone to one of the giant amusement parks where you have to pay $50 a person to get in and then spend 45 minutes standing in line for each ride. Carnivals like this are made for little kids like her. I watched little kids walking around that looked like they had died and gone to heaven.

I have to admit, it felt great going on the rides. My favorite was one with swings you sit on and fly around in a big circle. It reminded me of how much fun I had swinging when I was little. I would swing as fast and as high as I could, lean way back and let my hair fly all over. It was extra fun at night, when the stars were out and the insects were singing to each other. I wish I had a swing set in the back yard now, no matter what the neighbors would think.