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J U LI E ’ S S TO RY - G LI M P S E S O F G O D I N E V E RY DA Y L I F E

County Fair Day PREACH IT, TEACH IT DEVOTIONAL

SCRIPTURE STUDY Luke 9:46-48 James 3:13-18 Matthew 5:5

PRAYER FOCUS Dear Jesus, My selfishness can genuinely hurt those around me. Give me the humility to see the needs of others and extend grace to them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

GOOD CLEAN FUN County fair day was the biggest, best day of the year at L.O. Donald School. Math went out the window, social studies were shelved, and science was history. Principal Burney wore overalls and a holey t-shirt. He left his paddle at home and helped the gym teacher pile hay bales around the playground. The halls were filled with crepe paper streamers and “Turkey in the Straw” blasted over the loud speakers. The festivities began with the pledge of allegiance and “The Star-Spangled Banner” tooted on the flute by Miss Redmond, the music teacher. We lived for this magical day. The aroma of popcorn balls smeared with butter and Karo syrup filled the lunchroom air, replacing the stench of day-old English peas and mystery meat. The hefty hair-netted cafeteria ladies doled out pink cotton candy clouds and fried funnel cakes. Nutrition was set aside and replaced with junk food debauchery. We stuffed our little faces with sweets all day long and nobody cared. There wasn’t a vegetable in sight! But the endless array of goodies was only the jumping-off point for fair day. The 4H boys ogled each other’s obese spotted bunnies and plump little piggies. A blue ribbon awaited the finest specimens. The rest of the livestock went home dejected and depressed-destined to be next week’s stew or breakfast bacon. The winning animals went on to compete at the Dallas County fairgrounds where the big-league farmers and farmer wannabes strutted their stuff. I had little interest in the 4-H corner of the gym. The whole corner reeked of damp straw and bunny poo. Chuckles the clown (our janitor Mr. Simmons) flopped around in boat-sized clodhoppers trying to make the kindergarten children laugh. His skin was pasty-white from Johnson’s Baby Powder, and his creepy red smile and green nose looked a lot like the Joker from Batman. Little Daisy Mifflin is still in therapy for her clown is-

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sues. Mrs. Lindley, the quiet, mousy library lady let it all hang out with a Broadway music medley she belted over the school P.A. A lusty “I’m Just a Girl Who Cain’t Say No” from Oklahoma is just not in keeping with her demure demeanor and her hushed library voice. The carnies from the Walmart parking lot brought a three-horse merry-go-round, a “fun house” (actually a pup tent with concave mirrors and a strobe light) and a trampoline. Every jumper had to sign a waiver swearing that they would not sue if they became decapitated or armless from hurling themselves into the air. Lots of parents came to join in the fun. The bleached-blonde soccer moms with Rayban sunshades and spray-tanned legs spent the morning blowing up helium balloons for the little kids. The third-grade boys loved to steal the colorful orbs, suck the helium and sing like Alvin the Chipmunk. The no-nonsense moms were self-appointed behavior cops who tried to tie shoes, wipe sticky fingers and make us line up for no reason at all. Our favorite parents plopped down on the stairs by the blacktop and shared their Snickers. They always had a good joke and a gumball. At noon, the real fun and games ensued. Egg-rolling, apple-bobbing and chubby bunny marshmallow-stuffing opened the festivities. The foody Olympics provided a level playing field for scrawny little first-graders and metal-mouthed, pimply sixth graders. Egg-rolling simply required a spoon and a deft embouchure. Mrs. Perkins, the elderly social studies teacher, blew the whistle and eager contestants, spoons in mouths, rolled the raw eggs toward the finish line. Serious scrambling usually resulted. Only one poultry-pushing child emerged the victor-ready to puff out his or her chest and receive the coveted egg-roller blue ribbon. I only managed an honorable mention—and that was after three years of intensive training and dozens of yoke chokes. Apple-bobbing should have been saved for later in the day. No self-respecting curly-permed girl would allow her locks to be doused in front of the basketball boys. Mary Ellen Snodgrass won the apple-bobbing challenge three years running. The champion needed lots of moxy and a serious overbite to win. To Mary Ellen, baptizing her freckled face into the murky water was child’s play. Her record was five apples in under two minutes...No contest. With a pucker like that Mary Ellen was a shoe-in for first trombone in the Junior High band. Chubby Bunnies was the final food-related sport on County Fair day. It was a poor substitute for a pie-eating contest, but pies were expensive and a package of marshmallows cost a quarter. Chubby Bunnies was so difficult, so disgusting, even hard-core fifth-grade bullies buckled under the pressure. The object of the game was to insert as many marshmallows in your mouth as humanly possible until your cheeks pooched out like a pecan-filled squirrel. Then the competitor must say “chubby bunnies” without swallowing or puking. I felt sure I had a fighting chance at Chubby Bunnies because my parents always said I had a big mouth. To my amazement, skinny Orville Weaver triumphed with twenty-two bunnies bulging from his piehole. It was a bittersweet moment for Orville. He never wanted to see any more smores. The next three challenges required some athletic prowess. The three-legged race usually required taller, skinnier runners to limp, hop or stumble toward the finish line. George McCaleb was assigned as my partner. It was a fate worse than death. Klutzy George could hardly tell his right foot from his left, so we shimmied, shook, pushed and pulled our way down the course-ending up in a heap fifteen feet from the starting line. I don’t know which was worse-losing, or lying in a heap with an icky boy. The tug-of-war was odious to the girls. Winning tugging teams endured mud, sweat and tears (and often a dislocated shoulder or two for the sake of team spirit). Needless to say, the strapping sixth grade boys creamed the other tuggers. Foot races, relays, tether-ball and weight-lifting ended the hard-core games. The jocks gloated and the wimps bolted. Needless to say, Mr. Slone, the gym teacher, used county fair day to scout for new blood on the basketball team. I did return home with one lonely blue ribbon. The shoe scramble was my tour-de-force. The key to victory was wearing slip-on shoes with no socks. Every contestant dumped their shoes into a large, wooden barrel. Converse sneakers, flipflops, patent Mary Janes and orthopedic wedgies lay in a heap at the end of the blacktop. The starting whistle blew and we ran lickety-split diving head-first into the pile. My bright yellow slip-ons were easy to spot, so I wrestled Helen Osgood to the ground and ripped my right shoe out of her hot little hand. One down and one to go. Throwing my body head-long into the fray, I emerged triumphant with shoe number two. Ah, the sweet taste of victory! Anti-fungal crème and odor-eaters would be a routine ritual for the next week, but my blue ribbon hung proudly and perfectly on the Friigidaire door.

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Sportsmanship is a term often used by those who lose. To the winner go the spoils! Or do they?

• Read Luke 9:46-48. Jesus’ disciples were discussing which of them would be the greatest in Christ’s heavenly kingdom. Jesus set a child on His lap and made an insightful observation. What did He say, and what can we learn from His statement? What childlike qualities would you like to cultivate? How would becoming more humble and meek transform your relationships?

Read James 3:13-18. What does a life of humility look like? Contrast James’ description of earthly and heavenly wisdom. Memorize the definition of the wisdom that comes from God. Can you remember a time when you were misled by earthly wisdom? When was it? Can you remember a time when you experienced the pure, peaceable wisdom of God? When was it? •

Winning and losing is such an innate value in our culture. Can you think of a time when you “won” in a relationship (like arguing) and you really “lost”? Jesus said that the “meek inherit the earth” in Matthew 5:5. How would meekness be displayed in a conflict or competition? •