The More Things Change ...

For all those wondering why I didn't blog at all yesterday (hi Mom!), the reason is that I took the day off, and went with the family to the annual Ventua County Fair. It was a great day of livestock, greasy food, and kids having the time of their lives on pseudo helicopters, dragons, and bumper boats.

The theme for this year's carnival -- "An Old-Fashioned Fair" -- couldn't have been more apt. In this age of high-speed change, non-stop technological revolutions, and cultural flux, is there anything that's changed less than the county fair?

Walking around the fairgrounds, I felt like I stepped off a time machine to county fairs I attended back in Massachusetts 25 years ago. The rides are the same: Tilt-a-Whirl, the Round-Up, the pirate ship, the ferris wheel, the merry-go-round. Ditto for the foods: Funnel cake, soft-serve ice cream, burgers and dogs. And, of course, the games: Throwing darts at balloons, tossing basketballs into too-small hoops, shooting some harmless creature in the mouth with a water cannon in order to propel your plastic gizmo in a frenzied group race.

You'd think someone, somewhere, would have innovated on the fair staples. But no, there's no "Survivor" ride, no virtual-reality ripoff games, not even healthier food to go with our health-conscious times. (When you go to the fair, prepare to have your wallet emptied and your arteries clogged!)

The fair remains, well, the fair. A little cheesy, a little overpriced, a little trapped in the '70s. But fun, and a great place to make memories.