Things I Learned Two Days Ago...I Think

Dennis and I went, for the first time since moving here, to the NC State Fair this past Monday. Here's what I learned:

1. Never give advice (or suggestions) to another Senior Citizen.
    It was pretty dang cold Monday morning. Waiting in line to board a transit bus, the wind gently caressed and enveloped all that were standing there. The lady directly in front of me had very short hair, ears exposed to the blustery day. I should have kept my mouth shut.

2. I am a Senior Citizen.
   The bus was loaded with old people. As far as the eye could see, forward and backwards, people with canes, no hair, and very slow, to non-existent, movement. I wondered how they would make it up those hilly inclines at the fairgrounds. So, evidently, transits are for the elderly. I didn't know that...but now I do. I like transits.

3. My memory is fleeting.
    Entering the fairgrounds, the gate keeper informed me I was not "over the hill". I was merely an "informed adult", or an "informed individual", or a "mature adult", or a "mature individual"...whatever, you get the picture. I really don't remember. And actually whatever it was she said, I forgot after taking approximately 10 steps forward...but I liked it. Whatever it was. By now I was beginning to really appreciate being a senior citizen. It seems to be a good luck charm when going anywhere. Discounts all over the place. AND a free pass into the fair! Ha! Dennis had to pay $10 to experience the same things I experienced for $0.00! (Big smiley face goes here).

4. Expect lines to move slowly.
    No one seems to be in a hurry in the world of seniors. It just takes time to sort through which archived money one should use. Cash? If so, from which secret pocket in the purse should it be taken from? The Christmas Fund? The Loose Cash Fund? The "Saved for a Rainy Day" Fund? The "Where Did THAT Come From Fund"? Maybe one should just use that piece of plastic and hold onto the cash. But which Credit Card? Which Debit Card? Better use one that is covered of fraudulent charges just in case the vendor decides to keep the info on the card. Decisions, decisions. (Memo: I don't have all this free flowing cash; in case you're thinking of following me, with intent of knocking me in the head).

5. Expect detours while on the fairgrounds. (Go ahead and speculate on what that means exactly...)

6. There is more than one way to cook bacon.
    This one I learned from a total stranger I found myself talking to, about a ceramic bacon fryer, in a pottery vendors palace. Strangers become good friends by the time you reach mature adulthood. We welcome ANY interaction, since family has their own life to live and it rarely interacts with yours. So...the bacon recipe. The bacon in the picture looked limp and icky. My new found friend had the perfect solution, and  I'm going to try her suggestion. Hummmm....maybe I'm NOT a senior citizen. Taking suggestions, and all...
    Here's the how-to:  Layer bacon on aluminum foiled cookie sheet
                                   Cook in oven at 350 degrees, for 10 minutes
It's supposed to come out very crispy with no spattering mess to clean up. Awesome.

7. Football really does unite people across the globe.
    Dennis had several strangers stop to talk football. All because he wore his colors. When leaving the fairgrounds, a "mature adult" walked past and said, ever so nonchalantly, "Boomer", with which Dennis replied, ever so nonchalantly, "Sooner." Without looking back, she exclaimed to her husband, "He's a real one." Of course they had to be stopped and visited with.

8. Seniors, even though they have a couple of years to go before being legally known as a "Senior Citizen" (aka the one who still has to pay to get into the Fair), will develop pain in the lower torso that travels down at least one leg and into the same foot after walking a few hours up and down hilly terrain, but still gets a kick out of holding hands with people dressed as Mother Earth and walks on stilts.

The REAL Senior just put this in her memory bank. The bank that serves her well...for the next 10 forward steps.

9. If you keep watch on the time in the midst of all the fun of eating funnel cakes, hot, homemade apple pie with stone cold vanilla ice-cream on top, chili dogs, turkey legs, onion rings, and hot apple cider, and visiting with total strangers (and strange people in general), and taking time to admire the beauty of the florists gardens...the transit will get you home before dark.

WHERE ARE ALL THE PICTURES I WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE?!!

Thankfully, I still know my way home...here, in Mary's World.