Saturday, Jyly 23

Up around 7:30, but skipped my exercises again, so I could get ready to go to the fairgrounds to attend a tribute to the military. It was a stirring event that included a reading of the 116 names of the fallen in our state; a Field of Honors (116 flags, with photos of the fallen); a tribute to those killed in action since last year's ceremony, which included honor guard members presenting a flag to a family member, who installed it on the field; the playing of taps by a bugler; a 21-gun salute (the first shot of which startled all of us); and the playing of patriotic tunes by a military band.

I spent the time we were there snapping photos of the event, which I posted on my social network page after we returned home. I would have snapped more photos, if my battery hadn't quit working. I should have had the presence of mind to charge the battery last night.

We were back home by around 10:30. While I was uploading photos, a young man came to the door. He'd run out of gas, and asked if Hubbie could provide him with a gallon, so he could go to his place of employment to pick up his paycheck. There wasn't much gas in the can Hubbie uses for the lawn mower, so he took the young man to the nearest gas station to get $5 worth of gas to put in his car. With the gas that was already in the can, Hubbie was able to provide about two gallons of gas. We hoped that that would be enough to get the guy where he was going, but Hubbie wasn't willing to provide more, since he figured the guy wouldn't pay it back...and he didn't.

We didn't accomplish anything the rest of the day. Mother came over after lunch to join us in doing nothing.

Supper tonight was the rest of the pasta dish, with salad and bread. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I later went back to the fairgrounds, this time to see the Brian Staples Animal Safari/magic show. It was hot and muggy tonight, but not intolerable under the entertainment shed.

Before we went to the fairgrounds, we went up on a hill to a church parking lot, which overlooks the fairgrounds, so that I could take pictures of the fair. At the fair, we toured the midway, where I snapped shots of the carnival rides, and then we went back to the commercial building to register for prizes.

After that, we searched for the Main Street lemonade stand. In past years, it has been just outside the entertainment shed, but not this year. So we stopped by the fair office and got directions to it. We were told that the reason the stand wasn't in its usual spot was that the local health department said it needed to be on a concrete pad and be enclosed. All they had was tables, which were set on a dirt and gravel path. Tonight, it was in a concrete block building that housed some other food vendors. I'm sure they didn't sell nearly as much lemonade from that location as they did near the entertainment shed.

The animal and magic show was entertaining, but I would have like to see more animals. Staples trains animals for movies and TV. In fact, several of the primates he showed tonight have appeared in shows, and are frequently in his own Nickelodeon show on TV.

The animals he shows are rescued from various places. The lion he showed has epilepsy, and one monkey he exhibited has no fingers (lost them in a medical research facility that uses animals for experimentation).

Part of his magic show included a Houdini trick of being locked into handcuffs, etc., and then locked into a cage of water, where he stayed for three minutes, while he got out of his shackles (behind a drape, of course).

We enjoyed the trick where a table appears to float in the air, while he and an assistant from the audience hold onto the corners of a cloth table cover, and the trick where his son is tied in a bag, and locked in a box, and then as he stands on top of the box inside a drape, he and the person in the box exchange places within seconds.

We were back home around 9:30 p.m. The fair is over for this year, except going to pick up our entries tomorrow afternoon.