
Fun idea for a photo op, but of course we had to wait for a wisenheimer kid to stop forming a T at the end.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians that other people love, and farm animals competing for cash prizes and herd bragging rights. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context. Usually we’re all about the food.
…but we’re not eating every minute. And now it all comes down to this: all the other usable moments we caught on screen throughout our seven hours at the Indiana State Fairgrounds this year. Technically these are outtakes in that they don’t fit into any categories we shared from the first six chapters, but they mean something to us, even if not every one of them means all that much beyond “Whee! Fun!”

New ride this year: the Skyride! Suspended chairs carry guests up and down the main straightaway where all the best food stands are. So far it hasn’t broken down like the one at our zoo did two months ago.

Giant inflatable cornucopia near a booth that was passing out free samples of a new carbonated lemonade containing none of the veggies seen here.

One of several bonsai trees vying for attention. This one wins in my book because it was the only one to add figurines.

Anne’s favorite part of the day: meeting an actual WWII veteran, who’d just happened to stop for photos with these servicemen. She will brake for any WWII vet and ask them their story. It’s her thing.

Exposition Hall lets folks meet a variety of construction companies, DirecTV shills, As Seen on TV hucksters, and interesting merchandisers. We really need more Parks & Rec merch in our lives, but this shirt wasn’t in my size. I had to settle for a cool Mouse Rat sticker.

Purdue University organized a special section n the Ag-Hot Building devoted to heart health, which was equipped with lawn furniture that checked our vital signs.

We appreciated the Indiana Secretary of State sponsoring a booth that took our pic for posterity, even if goofy props are no substitute for jazz hands.
The End. Lord willing, we’ll see ’em again next year.