Finding love at the state fair

As a reporter in Texas, I covered the county fair each year. I even entered pralines once and won first place (though that was only because my dear friend Joannie taught me how to make them a week before and I had a bit of beginner's luck). But I was never exactly "taken" by these yearly events.

When I moved up north, I quickly learned how much Minnesotans adore their state fair, otherwise known as The Great Minnesota Get Together. So for years I tried my ever-loving best to love the state fair, too. And I failed miserably.

Here's what fair lovers talked about: the foods on a stick, the animals, Garrison Keillor at the Grand Stand, people-watching, cheese curds (cheese curds?), fireworks, Sweet Martha's Cookies, all the milk you could drink, talking with politicians, roasted corn, the big slide, the seed art, newborn animals, and more.

And here's what I experienced: difficult-to-find parking, crowds, lines, lines, lines, food I could not afford, sweat, tired feet, and 3 kids who I was sure would get lost forever and who could never be happy simultaneously.

Sadly, I concluded the state fair was not for me. And each year the end of August would roll around, and once again I'd hear much anticipation and thrill about the state fair.

Years passed, my kids found their own reasons to like the fair, and I avoided it.

But one August a few years ago, I tried an experiment. I announced to my family that I was going to go to the fair all by myself and try one last time to find something to love about it.

Mr. B drove me to a nearby mall where I could hop on a bus and ride to the fair and not deal with parking. So far so good. He wished me good luck, I kissed him goodbye, and off I went all by myself.

Once I arrived I found a map and chose my destinations. About 2 hours into the experiment I was having a good-enough time, but I still wasn't thunderstruck. So onward I went. I wandered into a building where all kinds of gadgets were being hawked. I waited my turn to pass through the crowd and get close to a display of soaps that looked interesting. As I was smelling one, I casually turned my head to look across the row to the other side.

And there, much to my surprise, was Mr. B looking back at me. 

Thunder struck.

Here's how he tells the story: 

After he watched me get on the bus and leave, he noticed that I had left my pop (ie, soda) in the car. He picked it up and realized I hadn't finished it. So he thought, What the heck, I'll just get on the next bus and take it to her. (Yep, he's silly like that.) 

He got to the fairgrounds, and in the distance, he saw me overhead crossing the footbridge to enter. And then I drifted into the crowd and was gone. So he thought to himself, Now where would Kathleen be likely to go? He followed his hunch and it took him 2 hours, but sure enough, he found me.

Now, I ask you, what are the chances?

Do I like the state fair now? OK, I admit there are moments, like someone who has fallen in love for the first time.

And each year that we go now, we go together. 

And I also like cheese curds.

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