It's Indiana State Fair time. What's your favorite fair event, or if you don't go, why not?

I've never been to the state fair. Time and resources perpetually evade me. It would move higher in my priorities if someone I knew were vying for a title.

For instance, my neighbor Lloyd, whose exploits in home brewing have been featured in these pages, placed third in the state in the English Brown Ale category with an elixir he dubbed, "Bushy-Tailed Mild Ale." If they gave samples, it would be worth the drive (just to provide moral support of course).

I do enjoy going to the county fair. My son, Sam, regularly competes in various 4-H events (his exploits have also been featured here). The fairgrounds are just a few minutes from Fairfield, so it's a convenient stop after work. My favorite event is the ambiance: the sounds, the sights and the smells (of concessions, not livestock).

There's a joy that accompanies childhood that flees along with innocence somewhere in adolescence, never to return. But you can catch glimpses of it through the crowd when you stroll the midway and hear echoes of its laughter when you steal a pinch of your kid's cotton candy. Your grocer's freezer carries corndogs year round now, but when I catch a whiff of them cooking at the fair, for just a moment, I'm 8 years old again.

I don't want to be a child again. There's awkwardness, immaturity and attendant pain associated with growing up that I have no ambition to relive. I'm content to merely pay my childhood a visit each summer by attending the fair.

One advantage of going as an adult is, if I can't resist the aroma of an elephant ear, I can afford one. I can drink the syrup from as many snow-cones as I wish or save room for Lloyd's brew.

Something I don't miss about adolescence is wishing I had a girlfriend to roam the grounds with. Now, when we go to the fair, I get to hold my wife's hand as we trample the grass. I can add that to the list of fond memories I'll surely reminisce about in years to come.

Mike VanOuse

Lafayette