Going into the world

Yesterday was Florida State Fair day. It helped that it was one of their senior citizen days thus giving us a discount on the entrance fee. People go to the fair for a wide variety of reasons. Some go for the Mid-Way rides while others go for the food. Some go for the displays while others go for the animals. Some go for the entertainment while others go for the displays. We went yesterday for a little bit of all of that.

We walked the Mid-Way just to see what new rides they have come up with. There was a time in my life that I probably would have tried many of the wilder rides, but not any longer. As we watch several different rides go through their gyrations I could feel my stomach begin to churn and turn … and that was just watching! As the Sun goes down the rides will be filled with much younger citizens than those who are called senior … and some will think that they are having the time of their life while others will get sick.

We sampled some of the fair food, but stayed away from some of the “new” offerings like the deep-fried cheeseburger; the deep-fried donut; the deep-fried Oreo cookie; the deep-fried corn-on-the-cob; and the chocolate covered bacon. If you can deep-fry it or cover it in chocolate it will sell. Now I will have to admit that at one time I did try the deep-fried ice cream … it wasn’t that bad … but all this other stuff? I don’t think so.

We did walk through some of the displays of art works presented by some of the children and youth. We were impressed. I felt that some pieces that didn’t get a ribbon were better than those that did, but I’m not a judge. The hand-made clothes and quilts, as well as the various presentations of woodworking were impressive. It is amazing how talented people are.

Then there was the large Expo Hall with all the vendors trying to engage you to have interest in their products. There are the “standard” vendors that can be found at every event such as this, but every now and again something new will get our attention – something different and unique. This year it was a crafter who used dried flowers from her own garden to create pieces of art, as well as various other kinds of plaques, etc. or the vendor demonstrating a ceramic edged knife that was surprisingly sharp. With it an apple could be cut without causing the apple to turn brown. We were also fascinated by Titanium cookware. It was well beyond our price range unless we win the lottery, but my-word what wonderful cookware.

The main attraction for us is the people … both the watching kind and the engage in conversation kind. There were many delightful people that we had the privilege to talk with not only about what they were selling (or at least trying to sell), but where they were from, how they got interested in representing their particular product, and a little bit of their personal history – children, grandchildren, etc.

After we had gotten our ice cream cone and strawberry short cake and as we were walking back to our car it began to dawn on me that participating in such events as the State Fair is exactly what Jesus was trying to have us understand about going forth into all the world. Why? Because we will meet people … all sorts of people … people at various stages in their lives … people with hopes and needs … people who are trying to escape from reality or simply trying to grasp hold of the golden ring of possibilities. It was an opportunity for the Good News to be demonstrated in a real way as we stop, listen and make them feel like they are important.

Here’s to going forth into the world!

Quote for today: A scuba diver lives in the water but breathes the air--he takes his environment with him. ~Source Unknown