Great Balls of Fair!

© Stuart Pearl 2010 - (Click Images For Better Viewing)

Jeanne and I mark the end of summer by visiting several local festivals. One of our favorites is the Geauga County Fair. It has a great "country feel" and the jaunt out to Burton, Ohio is always a pleasant drive from the city. It's also a great place to graze for dinner, wander the merchant booths, see interesting livestock and just watch family and kids having fun.

This year we saw something new and quite entertaining. Imagine a large shallow pool holding a bunch of clear, floating beach balls, each containing a young, energetic child running in place like a hamster in a wheel. We have no idea what this is called, but the kids were having a riot. Their young parents were enjoying the sight too.

Perhaps Jeanne and I are getting older, but we had other thougts as we watched the happy chaos. "Gee, I wonder how much air those things hold?" The kids were obviously hopped up on cotton candy, Pepsi, icecream and other fair food as they twirled in place. And the balls were sealed with a large zipper to keep the water out. Jeanne told me not to worry.

"That's ok, they probably unzip the kids right before they start getting lethargic and a little blue in the face." My wife always knows when to say the right thing.