Rant #1,013: Street Fair

With little to do on Sunday--it is supposed to be a day of rest, you know--my wife and I went to a local street fair, probably the first one we've gone to since my son was a toddler.

Street fairs have been around seemingly as long as streets have been around.

A major street is closed in a particular community, and wares, goods, services and food are sold from various stands across the route.

There are also usually a few carnival rides for the small fry, and you can really spend a whole day at these things.

Happily, we didn't.

After looking at what was shown at the street fair we went to yesterday--mainly jewelry and food--we had had enough after an hour of walking and looking.

This street fair was on my main retail drag of our community, and many of the vendors with stores along this route participated in the fair. Other local vendors did, too, so it brought a sense of community to the proceedings.

It was sort of like a heightened flea market, filled with legitimate vendors looking to sell you whatever they were there for.

And when you go to a summer street fair, you see everybody in their summer dress--and undress-so I guess for a guy like me, that kind of makes it fun.

But how much jewelry can you look at?

How many hawkers of various causes can you listen to?

How much food can you smell the aromas of, and just how much can you eat?

And, of course, the prices posted at this street fair are modern prices.

In the old days, you could spend a whole day at these things with maybe a dollar or two to spend.

Today, you have to have a whole wad of cash to really get into these things.

But I have to say, the place was packed to the rafters. Although the photo accompanying this story is not of the street fair we went to yesterday, I think it kind of shows you how packed the street fair I was at really was.

It was wall to wall people, the parking lot was full of cars, and people looked like they were having a good time.

My wife and I walked up and down the rows, and business seemed to be brisk.

But after an hour, we had had enough, returned to our car, and drove home, only to plop ourselves down in front of the television and while away the rest of the weekend.

I guess the street fair was a slight diversion to the day, but to me, it was nothing with nothing.

We bought little, so we still had some money in out wallets, but the best attractions were the free ones, including seeing a sweltering summer crowd walking up and down the avenue.

That is a site, that, quite frankly, is priceless.