Hello World,
And so here we find ourselves at the very last weekend in September already, believe it or not, and Tuesday will be the first day of October, as impossible as that might seem. Speaking of impossible, it appears that we're going to have to count on the Rangers at this point, because the rest of the local sports teams have just been heartbreaking to watch. Of course, the hapless Mets have been beyond salvaging all year, and could easily wind up losing 90 games out of 162. Even worse, the flagship of New York dynasties, the perennially front-running Yankees were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, which is something that never happens, and their stunned fans are cast adrift and stumbling around in a daze, like some poor old punch-drunk prizefighter. (Which reminds me of a classic quote by heavyweight champion Muhammed Ali: "Earnie Shavers hit me so hard, he shook my kinfolk back in Africa!") Meanwhile across the river, even Eli Manning's detractors would never have expected, after the Giants lost their first 2 games, that they would not only lose the next one, but get shut-out by the middling Carolina Panthers, for their worst start of a season in decades. At this rate, they're managing to make the maddeningly erratic Jets at 2-1 look like the world-beaters that they clearly are not, simply by comparison. So there certainly has been no joy in Mudville, at least three times over, and there's little enough to look forward to in October, heaven knows, without all of the teams in the tri-state area stinking up the joint. Where is Earnie Shavers when you need him?
Last weekend, we had an interesting adventure, and lived to tell the tale, so that was the best part. For years upon years, our friends around the Albany area had been begging us to go with them to The Big E Fair that they have in Springfield, Massachusetts every September, which they raved and raved about, and happily joined in with the throngs making their annual pilgrimage there. In fact, The Big E is eager to tell you that it represents 6 northeastern states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) covers a full 17 days of pure joy, and attracts over a million visitors from all over the world. For our part, we could never work up the enthusiasm for the idea though, because we thought it was just too far away, since it takes us 3 hours to reach them, and the fair is another hour and a half from there. But then we went to visit my cousin earlier this year in Pittsfield, which is just outside of Springfield, and found that by going direct from home, it didn't take that long at all, in fact, it was a very manageable ride at about 2 hours or so. When the fair rolled around again, as it does every September, we agreed to meet our friends there, and see what all the excitement was about. We were lucky to get two rooms at the nearby La Quinta hotel, only about a mile and a half from the fairgrounds, and we had a plan to meet there first, on the theory that it would be easier to go to the fair together and only have to park one car. As plans go, we thought this one was top shelf, which just goes to show you how little we know about shelves sometimes, and can't help but make a person wonder, where is Earnie Shavers when we need him?
The trip there was mostly uneventful, no thanks to the intermittent road construction that caused some traffic delays where we wouldn't have expected them. The weather forecast called for a beautiful sunny day in the region, but it was already sprinkling when we left home, and it rained on and off all the livelong day, thanks not. But we were determined to make the best of it, and got to the hotel in one shot and early besides, with the only disadvantage that they were already all booked up from the day before, and couldn't let us check in early even if they wanted to. When our friends showed up, we headed off to The Fifties Diner, a contemporary but very retro establishment, where we enjoyed our lunch to the sound of oldies on a genuine jukebox. From there, we hopped into the car and followed the simplest of directions to our destination, which was just across the bridge on the other side of the river, practically in plain sight and couldn't be quicker.
Not so fast! Although we expected crowds, nothing could have prepared us for what happened next. For that simple mile and a half from the hotel to the fairgrounds, we were stopped in traffic for over 2 hours, occasionally creeping along 5 or 10 feet forward, but mostly at a standstill, so that any pedestrian, or even someone in a wheelchair, would have long since left us in the dust. In the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit that dismal experience had an extremely malignant effect on our subsequent impressions of the fair, and we did not greet it with wide smiles and open arms that we might have otherwise. Once inside, even our friends said that they had never seen the place so mobbed, and it was basically impossible to see anything with the surging sea of humanity thronging on every side like floodwaters from a dam burst. We plunged right in, getting swept along with the seething tide, going where everyone else was going, stopping when they stopped, turning when they turned, and catching glimpses of whatever we could along the way. We eventually learned to detach ourselves from the thundering herd when we all came out of a building, or reached an intersection, and bravely soldiered on, using their brochure's (hopelessly insufficient) map to guide us to the attractions that we most wanted to see. It was an uphill battle all the way, because in spite of the rain, and the crowds, and the traffic, they just never stopped coming all day long, and just as many people were still coming in when we left, as when we first got there. It was much later in the day when we finally found a spot that was relatively quiet and unpopulated, and if we had only known about it sooner, we probably would have just started there and stayed right in that one area the whole time, I shouldn't wonder.
Like any fair, The Big E has some rides and midway amusements, like games of chance and exotic oddities sure to amuse, amaze, or bewilder. They also feature several venues for performances, with the likes of the Beach Boys, Tommy James & The Shondells, Darlene Love, Don Felder, the Ides of March, Kix Brooks, Elvis impersonators, and much more on any given day. Of course, there's no lack of fair food on every side, including fried dough, corn on the cob on a stick, cotton candy, blooming onions, funnel cake, fried Twinkies, soft ice cream, popcorn and all the chocolate-covered bananas anyone could hope for. They have a vast array of agricultural exhibits, including horse shows, sheep herding, pig races and award-winning livestock of all kinds. There's parades and car shows, safety demonstrations and marching bands, USO shows and Clydesdales, craft beers and even a village restoration. Unlike most fairs, they not only have their very own circus, but also a fun-size circus museum, filled with meticulous model layouts and circus-themed memorabilia of all sorts. Each of the 6 states is represented with its own exhibition hall, modeled after their original capitol buildings, and featuring local products, crafts and historical artifacts. There are hundreds of vendors, selling everything from jewelry to hot tubs, kitchen gadgets to carpets, key rings to lawn tractors, flag poles to fine art, cosmetics to garden tools, ergonomic chairs to organic pet supplies, and back again. Many booths display an eclectic mix of hand-made and unique items - like soap, candles, fudge, tote bags, sweaters, clocks, baby clothes, wind chimes, and even tie-dye T-shirts - to keep things interesting. That is, it would be interesting if you could actually see any of it, rather than being swept past it in the incessant roiling maelstrom of mankind, all of which made it impossible for us to do more than just skim the surface of what they (must laughingly) describe as "175 acres of bliss." After a few hours, we had to call it quits, and fight our way back to civilization, where the concept of "personal space" was embraced as a decadent luxury previously under-appreciated by all of us.
It took us much less time to get back to the hotel than vice versa, which was a relief, and even better was changing out of our wet clothes and soggy shoes. We were obviously way too pooped to go out for dinner, so we ordered pizza delivered, and ate in the room. While we were waiting, we broke out a game of Bananagrams, and if anyone out there understands the instructions to this confusing Scrabble-like pastime, I'd be grateful if you could please explain them to me, because we had no luck with it on our own. It was no rest for the weary, because the pool closed early and we didn't want to miss out, but we were disappointed that it was crowded and noisy, and there was no hot tub to relax in after a long and trying day. Things looked considerably better after a good night's sleep, and even more so after the hotel's breakfast buffet, which featured pre-made mini cheese omelets in chafing dishes, rather than the usual scrambled eggs, and which was an interesting innovation, although not to every taste. We had plenty of time to pack and decide on our next excursion before checking out, so we didn't just wander aimlessly around Springfield, getting into mischief out of sheer boredom. On the contrary, we discovered the Quaboag Antiques Center in a capacious and over-stuffed edifice to be fascinating and wide-ranging in all of its chock-a-block profusion of everything vintage, and a peacefully charming diversion after the tumultuous ordeal of The Big E. We stopped for lunch at the nearby Apollo Restaurant, which was basically a pizzeria with some other dishes, and snapped up some of their signature baklava as long as we were there. This was handily located right next to Goodwill, where we found there were plenty of bargains to be had, and didn't have to fight through stampedes of people to get them. In fact, even the local Wal*Mart was refreshingly uncrowded for a Sunday afternoon, although it must be said that it was a glorious day, and people were likely taking advantage of the great outdoors instead. Next stop was Denny's in West Haven, which we had found originally on our way back from Foxwoods, where you exit Highway 91 and it dumps you - PLOP! - right into their parking lot, and thanks ever so. There was less traffic on the way home than going up, and all in all, everything went better on Sunday than it did on Saturday, which was the opposite of what we would have expected. Which actually reminds me of another classic quote from boxer Tex Cobb: "Earnie Shavers could punch you in the neck and break your ankle."
Elle
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