A Night at the County Fair

So last week I went to the county fair with my dear boyfriend. Now, for those of you who have only encountered county fairs through television shows and movies, I can assure you, it is exactly like what you see on the screen. And I mean, exactly. You know how rich people like to slum it in the alleys of Beverly Hills? Well, us normal people in the rest of the economic spectrum do it at the county fairs.

I’ve been to a handful of county fairs in my life. They are all more or less the same: deep-fried food, farm animals, and carnival rides. Throw in a few haystack rides and some exotic animal exploita- I mean, exhibits, and there you have it, the classic Middle-America festival. They are still amazing though, no matter how many times I go and wade through the mud and give myself a stomachache sampling the latest fried goods.

So what was different about the last time I went?

This:

And this:

And all of these:

My boyfriend has an iPhone, and on this revered little phone is an app that could take the most amazing pictures ever. You would fiddle with all these different kinds of lenses, play with a variety of flashes, and choose your favorite film. Then, you take a picture in this tiny little viewfinder that only adds to the suspense and surprise of the final outcome. Wait for it to “develop” and “print.” And then stare in amazement at the awesome retro-ness of what you had just snapped.

There’s just something about looking at things in a completely new way. Your eye has to work harder to identify the subject, your brain has to somehow wrap itself around a new set of rules, and you just feel shocked... and inspired. Suddenly, everything around you has the potential to look aged and antique, or 70’s porno-ish (“boom chicka bow wow!”,) or melancholy and spooky. It really makes you look at the world around you more closely. Isn’t that what we all should do, stop a minute, take a look, pay attention to what we see, and find the beauty in everything? It’s all in there, waiting for you to pull it out.

A quick little story about the black cow up there. I have dubbed her “Miss Cranky Black Cow.” If you know me at all, you know that I can’t resist petting any animal I see. Bring me a frog and I will try to cuddle it. So when I see this sweet black little doe-eyed cow, one of the very few at this particular county fair, I couldn’t resist but to go up and give her a little pat. First, I couldn’t quite reach her head, so I positioned myself behind her, but to the side as to avoid any flying legs if it came to that. Then, I stretched out my hand, coo’ed a little bit, and gently gave her a single pat. Suddenly, I heard a grumbling from deep inside her, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her adjust herself as to be directly in front of me, and pick up her leg. Instinct kicked in, I screamed, “Whoa!!” and spun myself out of the way of her deadly flying hoof. Miss Cranky Black Cow nearly killed me and all my boyfriend could do was laugh hysterically and take pictures to commemorate the moment a heifer got the better of me. Thank you, darling.

Fly Free!

Beatrice

This blog post came from Beatrice's jewelry website. To learn more, just go to www.BirdcageBohemia.com. Fly Free!