Happy Fall Y'all!

Fall is in the air. The calendar says it's October 1st. Our downtown area is decorated with scarecrows, mums, cornstalks and bales of hay. The weather is cool and crisp. The magazines have recipes for soups and stews and desserts of apple and pumpkin. I love fall.

My husband (Big Joz) and I fell in love during the fall. You know we met the first day of my freshman year in college...at BAND CAMP! Yes, we were band nerds. I remember sipping hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps out of thermoses when the band played at the football games at Central Methodist. Mmmm...would keep you all warm on the inside! I digress....

I've already missed a major fall event this year--the Delta Fair. For the first time I can remember in my entire life, I did not attend the fair.

I did not get to peruse the baby picture exhibit and whisper to whoever was standing there with me that I could certainly understand why that baby didn't get a ribbon. And most defintely, I sure couldn't understand why that one DID!

I didn't get to walk through the American Legion building and stare for hours (well, not really, but for a long time anyway) at the various photography exhibits thinking I should certainly have entered some photos I had taken.

I didn't get to walk through the "Open Foods" area and reminisce about the year that I won a ribbon on every item I entered (three 1sts, two 2nds and a third).

I didn't get to make myself sick by trying to eat at least one item from every local food booth (caramel apples, funnel cakes with powdered sugar glaze, Tyrone burgers, Sumach corn dogs, just to name a few).

I didn't get to express my redneck self at the Demolition Derby. Of course, since the year of the big "fracas", I hadn't been too excited about that anyway.

I didn't get to see all those friendly faces I really miss seeing now. I didn't get to "smell" the fair. I didn't get to fuss at my kids for putting too many quarters in the quarter thing. I didn't get to stand in line with little kids during Armband Day. I didn't get any fresh-squeezed lemonade. I didn't get to use my lifetime pass.

And I didn't get any taffy!