Twice the Fun and Lessons Learned

Let me preface this entry by reminding everyone out there that it is Maine state law to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk.

The only thing scarier than almost getting run down by car is almost getting run down by a car twice. Yes, in just 4 short blocks of downtown Brunswick, I almost got hit twice. The first one was a little hatchback that appeared to be driving too fast (especially to take a turn!) and they didn’t have their turn signal on. The second one was a big SUV that at least slowed down first. But I don’t think the driver was expecting me to take the initiative, so they wound up having to slam on their brakes to not hit me.

(Brief tangent: there are two speech colloquialisms in the Southeastern U.S. that really wrinkle my trousers. The first one is the phrase “slam on brakes”, as in, “I had to slam on brakes not to run my truck into Bo’s trailer.”  Not slam on my brakes, or slam on the brakes, just slam on brakes. It gets on nerves. The second one is the use of the word “mash” where either “press” or “push” should be used. In elevators, people ask you to mash 3, please, and in offices, office workers mash both the keys on the keyboard and the buttons on the telephone. Oddly enough, though, they don’t press potatoes. Perhaps they should start. End of tangent.)

In other news, Lea & I went to the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine over the weekend. What a bust. The first problem of the day, which was my fault, was that I didn’t get money out of our local ATM. I figured that in this day and age, surely there would be a few ATMs between Gardiner and Unity. Not so. There was one. In Unity. That most of the fairgoers were stopping at. And, nobody could get it to work properly. We wanted $80, but all I could seem to do was get it to give me $40. So, I had to go through again and repeat the process. Now, I wouldn’t mind, but for each transaction, this bank is charging us $2, and I’m sure that our bank is probably charging us $2, so our $80 suddenly turns into $88.

There is only one road to the fair, and by midday, it’s good and backed up. Keep in mind that this is a fair that is promoting organic farming and sustainable farming and conserving natural resources. I shudder to think of the amount of gas wasted because there isn’t a more efficient system in place to get the cars parked. Finally, we get a parking space.

Then, there’s the line to get in. Again, the logistics are sadly lacking. Finally, we get to the gate and pay our $18 ($9 each) to get in. So now, between ATM fees (again, my fault), parking and admission, we’re already out $30. But we’re in at last – let the fun begin, right?

Wrong.

See, just getting to this point has already stressed me out and worn me down. Now, there are so many people in every direction, that I’m just having a miserable time. And I guess it’s some law that if you show up at this fair with toddlers, they must be carted around in the stroller equivalent of a friggin’ Hummer. I think I saw one normal stroller that day, and I’m sure everyone pointed and laughed.

We tried to have a good time. We saw a bunch of animals, and we looked around at the crafts, which were insanely expensive, by the way. $50 for a pair of mittens! $45 for a knit hat! But ultimately, the crowds overwhelmed me, and I had to leave.

Driving home, we stopped at the Waterville House of Pizza. I highly recommend their Greek pizza – it’s the best we have had in a long time! Then we did a little shopping, which made the day seem okay after all. Then again, when doesn’t a little shopping make the day seem okay?

We decided to give the Common Ground another shot next year, now that we know better what to expect. And, if all else fails, I’m sure the House of Pizza in Waterville will be waiting with open arms…