Utah State Fair

Tonight I saw a woman win $150 for her macadamia coffee cake, a 100-lb. turtle snap his beak at a jumpy crowd, and a one-year-old taste his first cotton candy. Enriched by memories of a dozen state fairs from my childhood, I went home fulfilled with the sort of feeling that only a state fair can provide.The boys got to choose one ride. Here they are on the world-famous, never disappointing, "Wiggly Worm."

Michael, our perennially pleasant child, was especially interested in the "Tigers of India" show. The trainers are from Florida, and they traveled here by truck hauling 6 Siberian Tigers in a massive trailer, which they had to stop and hose out every three hours. Imagine being at a rest stop and having that crowd pull up!

When they said that we could pose for pictures with a boa after the reptile show, I thought that it would be plastic (or feathered?). Then they came out with this real boa and Eric just stands there as calmly as if the guy were putting a graduation lei around him. I always want to sing Salt N Pepa's "Whatta Man" when I see him do things like this. Seriously, Eric. 

The magic of the state fair makes everything taste unimaginably delicious, even delicious enough to run three blocks to go back to the van and scrounge for loose change to buy a bag of cotton candy.