So it was late in the summer months. Vacation is just a fond memory now and boredom starts to set in for this 8 year old.
Hot as it was he knew school was on the way and soon the cool fall nights would follow. With no malls or arcades or such for kids in those days the only fun was adventures made on your own. The better the imagination the better the adventure.
Walking downtown looking for bottles to return for extra money was a normal pastime. On this day he noticed a poster hanging on one of the telephone poles that lined the streets.
COUNTY FAIR – August 17th-25th then there was pictures of balloons and confetti in a assortment of colors surrounding the bright red letters announcing the coming attraction. Well for this po hillbilly kid it was the next big adventure.
My mom and dad both worked and I could pretty much go where I wanted to during the day un-restricted. Those days are long gone for kids now but nothing can ever compare to that freedom of a young boy with no limits set. I woke up the 1st Saturday morning they were in town. Making it to the fairgrounds even before they were open.
I watched as many ladies brought in canned goods and pies and cakes for the 4H judging. I wondered over to the livestock remembering the smells of barns and fields explored before. I walked on to the mid-way and looked at all the rides that sprung up against a moon lit night. Hearing the music of the day blasting away over speakers being set up around most of the rides. I watched as the warmed the motors and made safety runs of all the rides. The arcade booths and games of chance tents were pinning back the front folds of tents to open the sides up to the public ready for the hawkers to start barking out their pitch. The smell in the air now started to fill my nose with the scent of breakfast foods and hot chocolate and the aroma of coffee in the air as I approached the food tents getting ready for the days crowd.
Then it hit me again. As I walked to the back of the large grounds mostly looking up as I wandered about. A large race track that seemed to just beckon people in. Well it did me anyway. It was still early and there was no one around this area setting up anything and the wind kicked up the dust from the track as I walked around examining what might be.
I saw the schedule posted at the front gate. Horse racing everyday in the morning. Tractor pull on Sunday night. Horse show Monday Night. Clown stunts and acrobats Tuesday evening. Motorcycle show and jumping competition Wednesday. Horse race Thursday eve. Demolition derby Friday and Saturday nights.
I was kind of disappointed as I saw no car races listed. here I was looking at a track thinking just that and boy what a let down. Demolition derby? What the heck was that , I though to myself. Demolition means tearing buildings down and the such. Why would someone make a derby from that.
I had to learn things on my own back then with no one explaining anything so thats how a boy thinks, at least this boy. I did not go to any of the mid week activities as my folks weren’t the kind to take their kids to a fair and I was only going during the day so far just to hang around and what not. But come that Friday night I would be sure to check out this thing called demolition derby. It was my parents night to go out as they always did and my chance to see something new.
Like clockwork they get home warm up the sloppy joe mix for us kids and they were gone to their friends house for a night of cards and drinking hopefully with the chance they wouldn’t come home until Sunday. Kalamazoo sits close to the west side of the time-line for Eastern or central time zones and in the summer it was natural to stay light out until close to 10 PM. (Which reminds me of the Kansas race and how last year they called the Michigan summer race when there was still 4 hours of daylight out. I can not recall who won the race on account of rain but it brings to mind last weeks race and how they said they had to re-start it. Heh. )
But as soon as I saw the taillights fade I was out the door before the dust from the gravel driveway was settled. I made a quick pace while walking as the fairgrounds were on the complete other-side of town from where our house was. I made it in plenty of time and being there everyday through the week i knew my way around pretty good even being recognized by some of the carnies.
I was standing by one of the game tents when I noticed a girl standing on the other side of the tent watching me and the game as people played. Kinda the same thing I was doing really. I looked at girls pretty much the same as boys back then. The same. as Long as they dint act all prissy anyway. I could tell she kept looking my way as i was practically staring at her now. Which I am not sure if that was the reason she kept looking or not.
We both eventually made our way slowly around the edge of the tent almost standing next to each other. I am not sure who moved the most to make some sort of contact me or her but it was probably me. We both said hi to each other and started to make casual talk. She was there alone living a couple of blocks away her mom worked nights and her dad lived in another state.
She asked if I was staying long and if I went on any rides yet. being a po boy made rides a extravaganza and although I had went on some through the week I mostly saved what money i could get from bottles for food. When it comes to a ride on the tilt-a-whirl or a foot-long chili dog with mustard and cotton candy with maybe enough for a good ol fresh corn-dog dipped in mustard.
She had said she dint like the rides anyway and rather just walk around as she was waiting for the demolition derby as well. I was real happy to hear this news as I was thinking I had a friend to hang around with for the night now. We walked around for a while looking at things and people talking about not wanting to go back to school and what not. She talked like she knew what the demo derby was all about and not wanting to show I dint I asked if she had ever seen this before. She told me how she has lived close by the fair forever and went since she could remember. I was not sure how old she was but I was 8 and she was pretty close to my age so you know in a kids mind that was forever. She talked how she enjoyed watching the cars crash into each other and the smell from the tires when they would rub and make smoke.
My eye’s lit up. Cars? crashing into each other? Hmmmm. she could tell I dint know what the heck I was talking about and laughed at a few comments I made when I tried to talk like I knew it all. Being kids and because of our size it was easy to worm into good seats. A small spot becomes wider when people see a kid and even wider when one is a cute girl and we took advantage of that to sit right up front.
The cars started driving in from the back onto the track and were not lining up like I was use to seeing this past summer but driving to the middle and lining up against one another like a game of Red Rover. They looked like race cars. Most were painted up more then what I had seen and were a bit more beat up but they had numbers on em like race cars and I was anxious to see what was going to happen. probably more so than anyone else in the stands that night.
They broadcaster the names of each driver and their respective car number. All the while these guys yelling or hootin an hollering revving their engines. Everyone in the stands started cheering and whistling standing up on the rows of bench’s that made up the stands. As I looked around it was a mix of people young old kids teens people of all ages all exceeding the boundaries of fun in my eyes.
Man this was the place to be I thought as I looked out in awe. Then a voice boomed over the loud speaker “READY_SET_GO!!” The cars blasted off from their parked positions, IN REVERSE! BAM! as the 1st strike of the night came. Boom ,BANG, BING! it was almost to much action to watch and take all of it in. A car on the left is about to be t-boned as the guy slams it in drive and pulls out just in time. Cars on the right tangled in a bumper dance for 3. Cars in the middle trying to make maneuver to line up their next victim.
Then what seemed like to soon of a time a loud horn sounded and the cars that could pull off did and they brought in a couple of pick-ups with tow straps and carted off the others in quick fashion. I stood there thinking thats it? We waited around all hey wait a second. Before I could finish my thoughts more cars were coming on the track from a 2nd gate lining up just as the first batch had before. Drivers names were once again read and numbers given. Time enough for a guy with a tray to walk around and sell all of the beers he had with him.
If the kids wanted pop we had to go under the stands and get it but by all means bring the beer up and serve it. HAHAHAHA Those were the days. We made a fast dash to get a pop or something to eat and the crowd was bigger then we thought so I grabbed her hand to lead her through the heard of people standing around the snack booth. We make it back to our seats me almost pulling her by the hand so we don’t lose each other in the mass of skin around us.
I noticed she sat a bit closer this time and as the night went on she started holding my hand even though we were just sitting and watching. This was all new to me as affection at our house was as rare as albino kangaroo in Alaska but it all was a enjoyment I’ll never forget. The demolition derby went on for a few hours having what seemed like heat races in a way with a feature of survivors at the end. Everyone in attendance picking out a new favorite driver in each one.
At the end it seemed the night could go on forever and we would all stay till it stopped. Everyone talking and expressing their joy of the night as they made their way down and back to the midway which was lit up in the darkness now.
The girl I made friends with still holding my hand as we moved away from the crowd and out toward the rides said she had to go home now and not knowing the time I said I probably should do the same. I walked her to her house and she asked if I was coming for tomorrow nights final night of the fair and I told her if i could I would for sure and meet her right back at the stands by the food booth. She got real close and gave me a quick kiss on my lips and ran inside her house as she said goodbye.
Standing there just realizing I had my 1st kiss ever I was speechless as I mumbled something dorky and what seemed like flew home.
I couldn’t make it the next night as my parents came home that afternoon and I was unable to sneak out again. I never saw her again and thought of her standing by the food booth waiting for me for a couple of weeks, being mad at my parents for coming home. It was soon after though that I had declared this as my best time ever so far in my young life.
I would end up going to the county fair every year that I can remember after that. In fact when I was a few years older I would start showing up days early as the arrived in town to help set up the rides and tents. But that is another story for another time as this time now was a joyful remembrance of my 1st kiss ever and how my love of cars started to harden in me even more.