A good old fashioned Carnival Midway brings back many good memories for both of us.
The smell of freshly mowed grass, mingling with popcorn and candy floss.
We are old school and think that every Midway should have a Merry Go Round and Calliope music. This Midway had neither.
Now a days it is all about the thrill rides…bigger and faster and taller.
I usually deposit at least $10 here while waiting for Far Guy to finish his rounds. Today I just wander along and recall times long ago.
I hear the High Striker Bell…
I am taken back in time…fifty years. I can almost see the Carnie that had this joint. I remember the crowd that used to gather as rivals kept trying to best one another…cheering…booing when the bell was not rung… but when it was a guy headed down the Midway with a gal on one arm and a huge stuffed animal in the other. I am not sure what town it is in…after awhile they all look alike only distinguishable by their food, movie theaters, bathrooms or some unforgettable event so long ago.
Perhaps I will write about it someday.
Well, what do the littles do without a merry-go-round? Doesn't seem right! At least they do have a slide and a Ferris wheel.
ReplyDeleteMy grandma lived across the street from a park where a carnival would set up in the summer. I remember the polio years, sitting in her porch window taking my in the sounds and lights from afar. Like you, I can close my eyes 50 years later and bring it all back! Thanks for the memory, Connie.
You can definitely go back 50 years by closing your eyes because carnivals at least all smell the same.
ReplyDeleteOh, please do! You have such a unique way of describing things that take ma right there. Just as you did in this post. Love it and wonder now how long it has been since I went to a carnival. :-)
ReplyDeleteCarnivals weren't a regular thing for us growing up. Even when we went to the State Fair my folks hated the midway area, so we didn't go there very often. If we did it was one ride. Didn't bother me because I didn't care much for rides anyways. Roller coasters and such make my stomach do flip flops so I can't stand them, anyways. But the sights and sounds and smells--you never seem to forget them. True. True.
ReplyDeleteI hope you do write about your memory of a midway. When I was about 15 a friend and I participated in a talent show held at the St. Louis county fair. Our parents let us stay for an hour or so after the show, which was the first time I'd experienced a midway after dark. It was so exotic! I remember that there were lights and sounds and smells, and boys who talked to us, and that the whole thing was just intoxicating. Oh, and because of the talent show, we were wearing lipstick for the first time. Can't remember anything more specific. Maybe some deep meditation would help. Thanks for nudging my memory of this!
ReplyDeleteMidways have certainly changed. I haven't been on a midway for about 30 years...since my kids were still around.
ReplyDeleteYears ago when I was a landscaper and build a lot of railroad tie walls, I was good at ringing the bell.
ReplyDeleteWe will soon have the Kansas State Fair in our backyard (not really, it is across town) and the sounds and smells of the mid-way are still favorites. We do have a merry-go-round!
ReplyDeleteWe had carnivals at the Molalla buckaroo, my hometown rodeo and Fourth of July celebration, and at the Clackamas County fair. I remember merry-go-round rides when I was little, but by the time there were seven kids, we didn't have money to spend on the midway, so we mostly just looked.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh I am happy to report our fair carnival still has the carousel AND the kiddie rides which I think is super cool.
ReplyDeleteMidways were so magical to see as a poor farm kid. The fourth of July always brought a carnival like party to a main city block. The rare times that we attended the state fair meant seeing a world of magic of all its own. I do really miss that kind of thing. Seeing them set up in a modern housing development area or a mall parking lot really seems to be too much of a change.
ReplyDeleteThe way you described the smell I was almost there! Oh no...we're talking about "the good ole days"....we must be old now. But thank goodness we have good memories! Well....mostly (speaking for myself here).
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