The World's Smallest Woman and Senior Ms. Arkansas...All in one day!
I have to write about this before I forget it all, as that is the way things go with me lately. The fair was hot and loud and smelled like greasy meat and horse poop, of course. Besides that, I actually had a pretty good time and I will tell you why.
First, there was the world's smallest woman. I'm not sure if she really is the world's smallest woman, but really, who cares? Aren't you just glad she is ALIVE as the sign so boldly proclaims?? Now, I stood there watching the exhibit for quite some time and the whole thing struck me as very odd and I will tell you why. Each person that paid and went up the stairs to look at her just looked for a second before quickly moving on and no expression seemed to register on their faces at all. No disappointment, no disbelief, no disgust, nothing. I couldn't figure out if it was a gimmick or too shocking for them to digest or what.
So I paid and went on up and there was indeed a tiny little woman seated on a couch at the top. She didn't seem like a very happy person (I don't blame her), but since the sign said I could talk to her and she would talk back to me, I spoke to her and we exchanged pleasantries and she seemed to perk up a little bit. I would have liked to talk to her a bit more, but it was very loud and I kept having to lean over and say, "Excuse me?" so I just waved goodbye and moved on. I still do not understand why the other people acted so strangely when they passed her. Maybe they just weren't expecting to see a tiny, yet quite lovely woman of color seated daintily on a love seat when they got to the top of the stairs? If she were a really freaky looking thing would they have stopped and stared and said something to "it"? I don't know. I admit that I didn't feel so good after that, thinking about that.
I walked around and watched the boys go on the rides and they pulled me through a maze of mirrors and then I stumbled upon something that mesmerized me and I couldn't be pulled away so they just left me there. It was the talent portion of the Ms. Senior Arkansas Pageant! Some of it was really fantastic and some of it was so funny I almost wet myself. Some of the acts included:
- A lady playing guitar and singing Coal Miner's Daughter
- Another doing a very uninspired dance routine to "Rock Around the Clock"
- Some woman who designed an outfit that could be worn a million different ways and she modeled them all
- Hillybilly jigging to bluegrass music
- Stand up comedy that I didn't seem to understand at all
- A woman with a very shrill voice singing "Oh What a Beautiful Morning"
- This one really obnoxious lady who rapped about the busy, cutting edge lifestyle of the modern grandma
- This one lady played guitar and sang a really fantastic country song that I have never heard before but she really blew me away with her voice
There was more, more, more. And I loved it all, the good and the bad. The thing is, the only people watching were the judges, the husband of one of the contestants, and me. You would think that the ladies had some family or friends that would come out for this event, but I guess not. So when I particularly liked an act, I would hoot and clap extra loud and long, hoping to sway the judges. I hope the results will be in tomorrow's paper. I really want my girl to win.