A Carnival of Memories

There is an event I look forward to every year, and it's finally here! I'm talking about the pop-up carnival at our local church, which features all kinds of entertainment: the Tilt-a-Whirl, Ferris Wheel, Scrambler, Dizzy Dragons, Bumper Cars, Ali Baba, Funhouse, games galore, and cotton candy.

I love every single thing about the local carnival: the lame rides which are only scary because I literally watched them being assembled three days ago; the fact that we can walk there and laugh at all the people driving around searching for a parking space; the sound of tweens screaming on the Tilt-a-Whirl (which we can hear through our bedroom window because we live that close); running into friends unexpectedly; the fact that it gives hoards of middle-schoolers, who are yearning for independence, a chance to safely roam the fair grounds unsupervised; and last, but certainly not least, how excited my kids get about it every year.

I didn't experience my first local carnival until high school. Of course, I'd visited amusement parks many times before, but there's something particularly magical about a local fair, especially during a girl's teenage years. I remember feeling so free and alive--wandering through the fair grounds at night, the paths lit by bright, blinking lights; the excited screams coming from all over the park; the sense of anticipation while waiting in line for the scariest ride; the wind whipping through our hair while a steel contraption flung us around and around and around again.

But the best part by far was the sheer possibility the night held. It was as if anything could happen. Pretty much the entire high school was there, including my closest friends and, more importantly, the cutest boys. While at the fair, my heart never stopped racing, either because of the thrilling rides or the close proximity of my latest crush.

I remember one fair in particular: It was June 1987, I was about to turn 18, my high school graduation was mere days away, I was heading off to college in the fall, and I was heady with the idea of my impending independence. I could taste it. The fair was our last high school fling, and for me, the perfect way to kick off summer.

I remember I was on the Ferris Wheel with a friend, and each time we rose high in the sky, we'd scan the fair grounds and check out who was there. I spotted this boy I was sort-of dating. He and I had gone to Prom together a few weeks earlier, but I wasn't sure what was going on between us. I waved down to him, and he waited around for the ride to end. We chatted and flirted for a little while, and then he leaned over and kissed me right in the middle of the teeming carnival, as people streamed by us. It was ten times more frightening and thrilling than the rides, and completely unforgettable. Twenty-four years later and I still remember that the kiss tasted like his cinnamon gum.

Fun on the Ferris Wheel
with my little lady

Nowadays, of course, it's all about how much fun my kids are having at the fair. But I will admit this: While on the Ferris Wheel with my daughter yesterday, I couldn't help but scan the fair grounds, wondering who I might see below....