Clark County Fair

Sorry for no real blog yesterday but as you know we were all wiped out after the nearly 900 mile drive after 3 shows in the heat of Western Iowa. It was an all nighter but by the grace of God, the use of caffeine, gum, sunflower seeds and old time radio we made it to Winchester, KY. Then we set up the whole stage and trapeze set up and did a show.

Everyone slept in this morning. We lost an hour coming into eastern time and that added to the difficulty. The hotel's b-fast looked good but we noticed that gravy was sour, the biscuits were hard and concluded the establishment believed in recycling food. Not a good practice. So no one will be in a rush to get it tomorrow. We bought lots of cereal today.

The drive left Nick and I with sleeplessness for nearly 40 hours. I did sneak a 15 minute nap while the kids set up the show and Nick slept a bit while we performed the show yesterday....I grounded him...didn't want a trapeze act to go up after that much sleeplessness.

Today Mami and I had sort of a date. We drove to Lexington (15 miles away) in search of mice. Buttercup the python hadn't eaten since Beech Bend park and was hungry. So we went a hunting. Near the pet shop where we found the mice there was a Panera Bread and soup joint. We dined there....I prefer the Soup Plantation in Southern Cal, But it was alright. I was complimented by one woman as I went outside to make sure I had locked the van..."Go Tea Party...I support you all the way." I had not noticed I was wearing my Cincinnati Tea Party T-shirt I got last year.

We were also on the hunt for 4" 20d nails. In Cali 20d nails are 4" long...out here...at least at the places we checked...they are 3 and 3/4" long. I need them for nailing up my nose in the Blockhead stunt. Turned out finding mice were easier....still looking for the nails.

Our audience last night was tiny....it was only the fair staff and families. But they were an appreciative group. Today we had three small crowds that grew but not to giant swells. The rodeo was the main draw tonight and rodeo goers are a special breed of people. Even still since it was going on (and their crowd wasn't crazy big) we had the dregs or leftover folks who didn't want to watch the rodeo. Since we are a family draw and the dregs were mostly pre-teens and teens the carnival got most of them. We also were only given three 16' long benches for the crowds and many who stood would tire after a while and move on. A drastic change from the hundreds we performed for at each show in Iowa. Hopefully the crowds will pick up.

Tomorrow is laundry day. woo hoo!

Oh, nearly forgot. I checked out the entries for the 4-H and FFA harvest products...you know tomatoes, corn, hay, tobacco. Yup I said Tobacco. When I first saw the tobacco I was stunned. Then I found myself wondering why I was stunned. Why was I bothered by it. So I decided not to be bothered by it. It's a legal crop. I suppose since I was raised in the system that says, "all tobacco is bad" and have been flooded by TV and other media insisting that I would die if I so much as look at a cigarette I have been washed in with the rest of you. Personally, I don't know a single person who has died of a tobacco related illness. Nor do I know anyone who has any tobacco related diseases. As a kid I was surrounded by smokers until my dad quit and many of our family friends quit as well. No doubt they are better off. If only for a better smelling house, clothes, car, etc. Better looking smiles (less yellow), etc. Oh, well, I ramble on at times, don't I?