my first glimpse of the dirty trucks bearing paintings of colorful merry-go-round horses and the trailers in which i’m sure they sleep during these on-the-road weeks had me proclaiming some statement about how hell, for me, would certainly be waking up on a saturday morning, cotton candy stuck to my hair, some god-forbidden organ circus tune repeating somewhere in the background and a day’s worth of taking tickets from screaming kids and hitting the ‘go’ button on the twirl-a-whirl ahead of me.
maybe it was their faces. sitting on the tables of their prize booths, their dirty untied tennis shoes dangling like lifeless limbs, rows of colorful giant stuffed bananas behind them along with hidden styrofoam dunkin donuts cups littering corners suggesting earlier attempts of caffiene-induced depression-awakenings…unsuccessful, by the looks of it.
that’s when it hit me. you know what? no. maybe it’s not hell. maybe i could rock it out.
because if i was a carnie…
well, for starters, if i was a carnie, i wouldn’t smoke cigarettes and drink gin & lemonade while operating the ferris wheel. i just wouldn’t.
if i was a carnie, i would wear cool shoes…and lipstick.
i would randomly give away giant synthetic carebears to cute little kids who eyed them in my prize booth and make up cool dance routines for us carnies to whip out simultaneously with some secret signal.
if i was a carnie, i’d have all my teeth. i’d design fabulous carnival shirts that weren’t made of polyester and the other carnies & i would look really cool wearing them.
i wouldn’t rig the blunt darts so no one pops a balloon, i wouldn’t charge five bucks for a candied apple, i wouldn’t stare at the moms’ boobs, and i promise you, i wouldn’t say the f-word when piling in a herd of kids past the gate to board the kiddie cars.
if i was a carnie, i’d smile and think that being carnie was perhaps, the coolest job in the world.
with all that said…we had a late-night invite to a local carnival last night and, despite the fact our girl had a short nap and really wasn’t up for a late night, i thought it might be fun & spontaneous for her to enjoy the adventure of bright lights and twirly things when normally, we’d say no.
and she did exactly that.
hesitantly trying her first puffs of sweet cotton candy with a kaleidoscope of flashing lights behind her. patiently waiting outside the big-kid rides while her friend alec enjoyed them…and waving every time his flying dinosoar soared by her. hello, precious.
it was loud and dirty and maybe even over-stimulating…but just what we needed on a saturday evening. seriously. how fun it was to watch my girl in childhood bliss. even if they wouldn’t let this pregnant lady ride the merry-go-round with her. (thank you, dede!)
if i was a carnie and i was watchin’ our little pink-capped, snow-cone stained, big-eyed girl last night…well, that woulda made my night.
it did mine.
oh, wait…fyi.
Sadly, it is an infirmity in us and not in children, when we cannot see the pure bliss in a parking lot carnival. Those are the things that sometimes make me sad…when I use only my adult eyes to view the world. I miss the wonder when I do that. It is sad when we outgrow the magic of a McDonald’s free happy meal toy or the thrill of being given a sucker by a drive through window clerk. Yes, everyone should, every once in a while, shed the stiffness of maturity and go to a carnival. Eat and elephant ear or a corn dog and think nothing of saturated fat because its not about nutrition, it is about interrupting the norm with bright lights, calliope music and magic. I am glad you went.
Omg that mask is flippin’ hilarious. What a great night at the carnival, and it’s those impromptu events that make wonderful memories.
Ok, you in the mask…stinkin funny. Absolutely loved this post.
You could so pull off a cool carnie.
You have GOT to take Lainey Love to Disney!
Ah,carnie-folk. They come to little old Springdale for a week every Fourth of July, and we have all learned to routinely bring in the porch furniture before their arrival. In highschool there was a tale of a classmate’s older sister running off with one, never to be heard of again. They truly are their own species. Somehow the carnie ickies do become irrelevant at the sight of your lovely snow cone princess. Thanks for a Sunday morning smile!
(And you make a fine Yu-gi-oh!)
Have you seen Adventureland? There are a couple of carnie girls who have dance numbers and it’s set in the 80s, so . . .that’s all I could think of while reading this post . . . your girl is getting so big! and so cute, of course. Hope the last bit of pregnancy continues to go well.
the baby’s sleepin’, the big kids are sleeping & i’ve got my reheated chinese.
thanks for the read. it was great. and the mask? awesome!
so that was supposed to say the big kids are playing! i told ya, i get ahead of myself every now and then!!
OMG – the mask – the mask made me laugh and laugh – couldn’t stop laughin’! Especially after the sights we saw last night! Thank you for joining us – Alec had a great time at his carnival! I must say I did too – not my first carnival but got to see it from through new eyes! dk
If I was a carnie, I’d rock the booth next to yours, and we’d sing super loud and all of our stuffed animals would be GONE in an hour, because we’d fall in love with all the babies. I love you. I’m just sayin.:)
My carnie horror story….
When my kids were little and they wanted to jump on the big jumpy thing we let them because it was harmless and fun. When they were getting off the toothless, drunk guy sitting at the entrance leaned over and puked. He kept on working like it was no big deal. It was totally gross. He was totally drunk and ick ick ick.
Needless to say, we still occassionally go. We went to the state fair this year and had a blast.
The mask…it scared me!! You are funny.
The mask is pretty scary! Did you ever watch Joe Dirt? The scene where Dana Carvey has his mullet in full bloom and has his one piece suit pulled down trying to be sexy?. Anyway..your post just reminded me of that movie. Love seeing the beautiful pictures of your even more beautiful little girl. I just got done reading “Dig” and had to go check my other favorite blog before work. Have a great day, smiles to you. M.
beautiful pics. that mask just cracked me up…think i spit the drink out my mouth bc i wasn’t quite expecting it…LOL
so fun tonight…nothing like a ‘real’ baby jesus to make
snow in naples come alive and become a spiritual experience:)
xo
This post rocks! Love the Carni insight. Too cute. Love the pics.
lol, love that you wore the mask while writing the whole post, and drank your coffee! what you won’t do for your little. 🙂
“If I was a carnie I would have all my teeth.”
That’s my new favorite thought as carnival season ramps up in our area!!!