Marshmallows in the Snow

If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. There's a message we've all given to others...and we've all received from others. It's an offshoot of the Golden Rule. Both are good rules, for the most part. But for bloggers, who are all about expressing a thought, or relating an experience, or shining light on a foible, it is a particularly vexing rule.

When bloggers blog they often write about a piece of life. A snippet. A snapshot. And their views are not always delightful and positive because to do that would be like taking a snapshot of a polar bear eating marshmallows in the snow...too white. No contrast.

When I wrote about my observations about the Hell fair I got hand-slapped by a reader for my not having anything nice to say. The insinuation was, so don't say anything at all. I am here to defend my observations.

Let me start by saying, I love The Fair. I love corn dogs. I love the bright lights of the midway at night. I love the smell and cacophony of the animal barns. I love the dorky green ties the FFA kids wear. I love the vendor booths, especially the ones with really good demos and free samples, like the VitaMix demo, still too soon to ask but, guy man, one machine can make both ice cream AND soup! The ShamWow can soak up a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke! The stainless steel cookware is guaranteed...to cure cancer! The titanium bracelet cures everything else! It's all good. I love love love the fair.

This year's fair, and to be "fair" I only went late on this one Saturday night, was a tad more hellish than usual. Maybe it was because the Stone Temple Pilots were performing and they attract a different crowd than say Al Jardine of the Beach Boys. Maybe they were filming an episode of "Paso Robles Ink" that night. Maybe there was a babysitter strike. Maybe carnie-folk are good, clean, sober people who, even though they have advanced college degrees, take time to teach Sunday school before they get back to their fair job. After all, the fair doesn't open until noon. Plenty of time to get in a meditation and do your Tai Chi. I may have seriously misjudged the people I saw at the fair. And you might ask who am I to judge?

Here's the answer to that: I am the person who was eye witness to a snippet of life, and wrote about it. I am also the person who says to the hand-slappers of the world...if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.