A Fair Evening.

So. Gid and I went to the fair. We've been looking forward to it for weeks now, and it was my first fair out of West Texas (needless to say, it's a little different here...) Anyway, we put on our "fair best", and made the trip out to the Boise Fairgrounds. 

At first I felt like a kid in a candy store: which booth do I go to?? Face painting, no- bizarre jewelry,-- No-cowboy hat booth, NO- sweaty gypsy palm reader! It was a very spastic evening for me. I know I said kid in a candy store, but now I'm thinking puppy in a pet toy store is more accurate. I was all over the place. And the food. Oh, the food! Gid and I got the biggest, most disgustingly mustard covered corn dog we could buy, and ate every bit of it. We shared a large strawberry lemonade. Memo Ladies: when you decide to buy a larger size and share it with a boy, you've GOT to be assertive. You suck every bit out of that straw when you get the chance, because you can be your boots your sweetie will be doing the same thing. We ended up eating a funnel cake and a snow cone as well. We saw the world's biggest pig (which I'm convinced is a horse that just happens to look similar to a pig), and the world's smallest horse (which coincidentally, I'm convinced is actually a pig who just happens to look like a horse). It was a weird night. Lots of interesting people. Some people would describe them as weirdoes. You know how people say all the weirdoes come to Wal-Mart from like 11:00 pm- 4:00 am? I wonder if those people have ever been to the Idaho State Fair. 

We'd eaten. We'd explored. We watched people get sick on the scary rides. We'd tested pillows that had little massage motors in them, and we'd listened to the musicians rock out. Our evening was pretty much wrapped up. But there was one thing I still secretly wanted to do. The thing was- Gideon was around, and I didn't want him making fun of me for the rest of forever. We walked by the booth. I took a breath and tried to find a way to jokingly suggest that one of us (me, obviously) try it out. 


You guessed it: it was the sweaty gypsy palm reading booth. 


There was a line. But once Gideon had figured out that I wanted to do it (without me actually saying it out loud), he put me right in line. Behind the teenage girls. And the older women. I felt really stupid on the outside, but inside, I could not wait. Finally Madam Divina let me inside the tent. She looked basically how I imagined a palm reader at the Idaho State Fair would look: dark eyes, thick hair and a warm smile. I sat down, and handed her my palm. At this point, I started wondering what the church's stand is on palm readers. Should I repent after this? Hmm. But once Madam Divina started talking, I focused on separating her words from the loud fair noises. 

She immediately told me that the number one important thing was that the universe understood me, and I understood the universe. I thought to myself, "Well. I have the gospel. So, yeah." Then after peering at my hand, she smiling told me that I had a long and healthy life ahead of me. Then she paused, and said, "But you really do need to start eating better." That was interesting, because I have been eating poorly lately, and Gideon has been on my tail about how fruit snacks and popcorn are not substantial enough for the human body. Madam Divina went on to tell me I'd have three children (I raised an eyebrow at that; since I've always planned on having more. Maybe she missed the crease in my hand that said, "Hel-oo, I'm Mormon." After asking about what my husband does for a living, Madam Divina told me that he was angry, and he was bringing troubles from the office at home (ahem- NOT true). She told me to have Gid kick the outside of the door three times before he comes home and the bad spirits from work won't enter our home. I'm totally having him do it, even though he always is a good sport when he comes home from work. Lady Gypsy then told me things about me that many of my close friends didn't even know about. Things from my past that I need to learn from. That was a little creepy. Then she told me that I had the capability of telling people where to go if they made me mad. I stared at the crease she was peering at, and thought, where the heck is she seeing that? In-nteresting. She told me that I was meant to travel around the world, and see all that life has to offer. I agreed enthusiastically. Madam Divina then pulled her card out of the side of her shirt (it must have been hiding near her underarm, or maybe in her bra, and handed it to me. I really had no interest in touching anything that had been any where close to her armpit, but I took it (carefully with two fingers) and gave her an uncomfortable smile. She told me in her mystical voice, "I sense that you will contact me again within the year. Just call the number on this card". I looked skeptically at the card, then Madam Divina, then back to the card. Then, dropping the mystical accent, she said in a much more normal Idahoan voice, "I'm in Nampa". 

 As I walked out the tent, I found Gideon sitting on the edge of a fountain next to the men who I imagine were waiting for the other girls getting their fortunes told. I gave him the basic summary, and we headed home.


It was a fairly lovely evening.