This past week I spent a considerable amount of time at the Alleghany County Regional Agricultural Fair. While some of my time was spent there in my official capacity with the newspaper, the majority of it was spent as part of my service on the fair committee.

It really can be a rewarding job at times, but there are other times when it isn't so rewarding at all. I must say that this year, it has been almost entirely a positive experience.

While many people involved with the fair do much more than me, they don't write this column, so I am going to talk about what I did.

Besides, it would be nearly impossible for me to even know what each of the others did. I can only say that I am glad that they did it and I didn't have to worry about it.

I got the pleasure of overseeing the effort to organize the music at this year's event, which was actually something I greatly enjoy. As a musician of sorts myself, I have a great appreciation for those who are especially talented.

This year I tried to focus my efforts on recruiting some of the finest local talent available for the event while also trying to keep a budget of around $1,000 for two nights. I hit one out of two marks, anyway. If you were at the events, you will know that I am talking about the musical talent that showed up. I won't have to answer for the rest until the next fair committee meeting.

Anyway, I also tried to give some new groups an opportunity to perform, groups that hadn't been at the fair before. In other words, there are a lot of groups out there that I didn't contact or don't know about, but there is always next year.

I was truly thrilled at the prospect of putting shows together to showcase the many fine and talented folks who are in our midst. Last Thursday night, we had a gospel music show at the grandstands. Any of you who know me well know that I have a special enjoyment of gospel music, especially when it comes from the heart. I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed the music that night.

We truly are blessed with some great people who also happen to be good musicians and live in our area.

I was somewhat disheartened when a hard rain started falling around 6 p.m., just a half hour before show time. After all the work I and others had done to book the bands, ask the fire department to put in the sound with George Sheets, advertise and talk about the show and prepare to make sure everything was under control, the one thing we couldn't control happened to us.

When rain happens to an outdoor event, it truly does hamper the success. As I told one of the musicians, it didn't kill us, but it really wounded our attendance.

However, just as I was about to give up, the rain left just like it came, slowing from a hard downpour to a steady trickle and then stopping altogether. It didn't rain again that evening.

After that, my evening was spent busily handling the little problems that come to pass during such an event — moving vehicles, turning on lights, moving microphones, finding and lining up musicians and handling other things as they came up.

I really enjoy music shows, no matter what role I take in them. I can say that I do enjoy them more as a spectator, simply because I can sit and take in the music without clouding my mind with other thoughts and worries. However, there is a certain satisfaction in helping make a show happen and then watching them happen.

Anyway, after Thursday night's entertainment, I went back to the fairgrounds on Friday to help get the show under way. With other items on my plate, like spending time with my family, I didn't stay all night, leaving just before the show started. However, since the show went fine, it should be apparent to all that mine wasn't the only oar in the water.

Then on Saturday evening I helped to sell tickets for the carnival rides. There were several people in the fairgrounds, but not as many as I would have expected. I was sitting in a little booth amongst the rides, passing tickets through the window and taking money.

I could always tell the fathers from the others there. They were the men who came in smiling and stopped shortly thereafter. The first sheet of tickets they bought for rides was somewhat painful, but by the time they had paid for food, admission and tickets for their families, they usually had a fairly sour look about them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking them for having a sour look. I think that sacrificing our own interest for our children is one of the most noble acts we can do in this world. I saw one Hispanic man with his daughter at the event that was particularly noteworthy. I could see the joy in the little girl's eyes as she ran, rode rides, skipped and played. The man pulled out his wallet and I could see that it was almost empty from my vantage point inside the ticket booth. He pulled out his last $20 to buy her more tickets for the rides. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

He wasn't the only one who did more than he could afford to give his children the opportunity to take part in the fair. I feel sure some people spent money they really needed to pay the light bill or the phone bill to give their kids some enjoyment.

Sometimes that made me feel sad for the ones that really didn't have it, but for the most part I knew what I was witnessing was a true expression of love.

I don't want to end my talk about experiences at the fair on a sour note by any means. The opportunity to eat junk food without remorse, take pictures of people having fun and be part of one of the most festive activities in the county were all things I enjoyed. I just notice things from many points of view, even those who didn't show up at all — some because they didn't want to, others because they truly couldn't afford it. But there is always next year and the hope that the local economy will recover from its current despairing state. For the time we're given, we can always have hope.

Get more tongue in cheek commentary this week's issue of the Alleghany News!

Email: allnews@ls.net