The Mouse Game

Growing up in a small Indiana town, my community always looked forward to the end of September when the county fair was held. It's the last county fair of the season and everyone came out to celebrate. The schools even closed on Friday so everyone could spend even more time ingesting elephant ears, hurtling around on the rides, and dropping $20 bills on the games. One game my mom and I would play is called the Mouse Game. Everyone stood around a tent and put their quarters on the number combination they thought would win. The announcer would let a mouse out of a box into an enclosed wheel and the mouse would run into one of the holes of the wheel which had a designated number. If you had a quarter on the number that corresponded with the mouse's choice, you won a prize.

In the olden days (you know way back when), your quarter would cover six numbers - like 7-12 or 25-30. But from what I gather, you no longer get as many numbers with your quarter. There were two mouse games, right across from each other in the same spot every year. I always went to the same one. The same guy was there year after year. I always remember the way he said, "And here he goes..." before letting the mouse free. I'm reminded of this every time Freddie takes off on a running fit around the house. I mimic that mouse game announcer, "And here he goes..." Of course, I'm the only one who gets it.

The family and I attended our county fair a few days ago. It's different than the one I grew up with. It's enclosed in the fairgrounds and much smaller. I miss the one I remember. The one that took over the town. It covered several blocks around the court house and spanned almost a mile south the official fairgrounds. When I suggested to the Polack that we take the boys to our fair this year, he rolled his eyes. The fair doesn't have the same meaning to him.

(Cuz he grew up with the crappy small fair while my fair was super-awesome! I mean, who wouldn't like a fair that caused the school district to shut down for a day?)

I realize that my expectations of my hometown fair won't ever meet the memories I have of it. But I'm hoping that sometime in the next few years, I'll have an opportunity to take my boys and experience it again through their eyes. In the meantime, here are some photos from our recent visit to the crappy fair.