The Dog Days Of Summer
Since I am prone to requiring medical assistance after thrill rides (okay, okay...perhaps even after not-so-thrillish rides), I have become "The Official Holder-Of-All-Things-That-Shall-Propel-From-Your-Pockets" when our family visits an amusement park. So it wasn't surprising to anyone that during our recent trip to Valley Fair I was planning to relax with both feet safely planted on terra firma whilst hubby and daughter made it their mission in life to ride every damn rollercoaster on the premises.
Once I staked out a hard, albeit immobile wooden bench in the shade, I attempted to pass the hours immersed in a paperback novel.
But soon I became distracted into observing the crowd flowing to and fro before me. Oh, the variety of people was entertaining, and the snippets of conversations I was privy to sometimes intriguing, but even better was the population explosion of large husky dogs being carried, toted and dragged along everywhere I looked.
I don't think the state of Alaska has as many of these canines as Shakopee, Minnesota.
Okay, maybe that's because they were the stuffed-variety of Husky, but they WERE large.
Erm, actually "gigantic", "humongous" or "titanic" are more apt descriptors.
So I had mixed reactions whenever someone paraded by with one of these trophies... both impressed by their obvious carnival game skills and amused at the ridiculous prizes being lugged around all day.
"Brilliant move there, bud...NOW how the hell are we going to ride Steel Venom?"
Truth be told, I was rooting for a head-on,er "dog-on" collision at some point...
Panic-striken, the young father left in a frantic attemptto retrace his steps once he realized
there was no baby in the stroller.
(Okay, I'm kidding...that really didn't happen)
Yet another baby carriage sans-child butavec-Husky.
"YOU carry him!""No, YOU carry him!"
Actually, I think the Husky looks more parched than the kid...
"Heh. Heh. Whatta buncha suckers..."(goes back to counting his money)
Perhaps I was simply jealous... hubby was too busy defying gravity on the rides to play even one carnival game and win us a mammoth stuffed dog.
Nah, I didn't want that.
*I* wanted the purple bunny with the four-foot floppy ears....
Which we didn't win either.
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24 People would rather be commenting:
I've always been amused by the number of people I see with live goldfish, after winning some strange ring toss game at our county fair. Those are a little difficult to take on spin-and-puke rides. too.
Hahahahaha! Oh yeah .. I remember the days of desperately wanting to win something like that only to find that it was a real burden once I had it!
Someone could have made good money by charging $5 each to take care of them all day. Perhaps someone with a Venom-riding family, a hard bench, and a paperback? ;)
Oh what fools! Once home, what do they do with these huge stuffed dogs?
How do they get them in the car to GET home?
I gave you your first smile :O)
Tara: Especially hard on the fish, I would guess... poor things!
Jay: OMG! Where the hell were you when I needed you??? I could have made enough moola to pay for a trip back to the Spam Museum!!!! Brilliant!
Babs: I know! I wonder if any of those tourists took a plane back home.... hah! Aw, and thank you so much for the Smilie!!!! You are a sweetheart!
That's what you think you want to win with your greedy little heart, but after a while you know better and you wish you could dump it somewhere, but your greedy little heart prevents you from doing so.
Now there's impulse buying...er, playing, at its best. Geez. They're huge!!!
My husband is the one who waits patiently for me on the sidelines while I ride coasters. He doesn't mind because he meets lots of people, usually the other halves of the crazies who went on the rides.
I'm getting less and less value out of Valley Fair every year. I now can't ride any spinny rides OR rides that whip my neck around. That leaves me with the Power Tower and the go-carts. Hardly worth my $30 admission anymore!
I amazes me how much money people dump on those games in order to win something that maybe is worth two bucks. Personally I would have been happy with a palm sized beanie baby.
Hahaha ! these are the biggest huskies ever seen ! I think I would have bought one, just for fun and sit it outside on my steps (when it is not raining of course) I would then take pictures of my neighbor's faces !
Hah you are so funny! Speaking of which, where you been on wordless Wednesdays lately? You've got some competition by a man named East Anglian Troy, almost as funny as you! Hey how come you get an Indian summer and we havent even had any summer yet over here? I am so moving back home, the weather here SUXS! xo
Irene: You hit the nail on the head! So right!!! Well put.
Kathy: Well, then. Dave and I would be right there on the benches together. He is right. I met a lot of nice people, including a guy who reminds me of Richard Dryfuss... we had a great chat. I was almost sad the family was finished their ride; I wanted to talk to that guy some more!
Jeff: I had absolutely NO value from my entrance fee... but I liked going anyway and watching family have a good time. I was also there to provide dry towels for the water rides ;)
Vegas Princess: I know! Try to sell those huge dogs at a store and nobody wants them. "Give them away" (not really) at a fair and everyone wants one. Wierd.
Gattina: It sure would scare our cats too, eh?
DJ: I've been around a bit, but I did miss a few WWs... I'll be back! And the weather was nice for a bit; now it's cooling off. Even the leaves are turning and falling already! We have very short Falls.
I WANT ONE!!!!!!! Dang it, I knew I shoulda gone to The Puyallup Fair this year. I bet they have the Huskies there as well. This is, afterall, Washington, home of the University of Washington Huskies.
Love it! I wonder if ppl thought you were stalking them (or their huskies) as you as you photo-documented?? :-)
This is EXACTLY how the aliens populated and overran all the other planets near us...
All these animals can be had for .50 cents a thrift store near you witihn 6 months....either their or in a landfill.
(I wonder what the chinaman who make these dogs in a sweatshop in China think of the people that covet these stuffed creatures?)
JoJo: Yeah, I was wondering if there was something "Husky-ish" about Minnesota too... and then, wouldn't you know it, my pal Jeff's hometown's a state university mascot is: The St. Cloud Huskies! Har!
Janet: I hid behind all the grey and white fake fur ;)
VE: Akkk! Overrun by Husky dogs! Just think of all the pooper scoopers we'd need!!!
Lotus07: You are very right. And the Chinese MUST think we are easy prey for a takeover one day. Just distract us with cute fuzzy animal toys and we'll never know what hit us.
And you know those things are going to end up at next summer's yard sale.
Now those are crazy. I hate it when my kids win soft toys at fairs. They're usually crappy and smell of fried onions. Boo.
Jonny's Mommy: I know. They are all the rage at the Fair; but get them home and they are most likely forgotten (or constantly tripped over).
Jo: Right. Smelling like onions or worse.... gah.
I've just had a thought. If you laid one on its side, and stitched a large cushion between the arm and leg, you'd have one heck of a dog bed! ROFL!
Hah! Brilliant! But Jay, maybe your big greyhounds could get up on one, but my little terrier sure couldn't!!! At least you've found a use for the damn thing!
I never played those games as I so did not want a chance of winning some gi-normous stuffed animal to have to cart around all day and then find room in my small home for!
my kids always get mad at me because I won't play carnival games with them. But they don't understand. When they get home from school I am gonna have to have them come look at this post!
LadyBanana: Smart lady, you are!!! Most people obviously don't think that far ahead.
PG: Oh noes! Your kids are going to hate me... ;) Either that, or they are going to want a huge husky dog.
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