So… i decided to write down some memories of my years working at the fair. I have to say, over 13 years of volunteering at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair has its ups and downs. I am a proud life member there (you reach life member status after volunteering 200+ hours and i am well over that. i think i am in the 500+ maybe 600+ i have to check again sometime).  I have learned many life lessons… like Never… and i do mean NEVER jump off a wheel of cheese that weighs 550lbs+ or risk the chance of breaking your ankle… like what happened to me a few years ago.  I have also learned many interesting facts… like the fact that my county fair was the first fair to have an educational video about cheese making… which is quite odd in my opinion.  I have even tried my hand at actually carving cheese into shapes… quite hard… but entertaining.  But not everything made me smile or laugh… some sad points had to do with a few years ago, a beloved friend of the family, and fellow fair volunteer, Harold … had passed away while volunteering at the fairgrounds… he was actually setting up some phone and light stuff near the carnival area… when he had a heart attack. while on a Boom lift no less… talk about sad but ironic, we, my family and i were just asking about him when two amblances went towards the place where he was.  I miss him. and i am quite sure my dad misses him the most of the family.

I was spending many nights thinking of what matters most to me in my life…. and of course the typical answers came, family… friends… but what else came to my mind was volunteering. It is just something i have done for all of my life… My favorite volunteering things i have done are helping out at the local county fair… and helping at the mission project, ASP. It breaks my heart that i haven’t done ASP for several years straight. but i told myself that if i can’t do it this year, i am definiately going to do it next year. 

 If you don’t know what ASP is, here is a basic summary, “Appalachia Service Project (ASP) provides one of the most rewarding structured service opportunities in the nation — bringing thousands of volunteers from around the country to rural Central Appalachia to repair homes for low-income families. But ASP is more than just a building program. Yes, Appalachia’s poorest families urgently need your help, but they can help change your life, too. Because when you change the lives of others, they have a way of changing you. “

ASP has changed me for the better in my opinion =) but the funny thing was, when i was in my first year of doing it, My mom had forced me to go… but after the first year, i loved it and wanted to keep coming back. and that what i did for a few years. but then sadly i had to stop, due to my own family’s financial sitch.

Working at the Local fairgrounds had also had a major impact on my life. I had started volunteering there when i was only nine years old . =) The people i met while volunteering there, i would trust my life to. It breaks my heart to think of all those older folks i was close to who had passed on. but alot of crazy times happened. but that will go on another blog post ;)

Ok… sure… maybe me walking around with a monkey tail isn’t the best thing to do. but seriously why the hell can’t people talk to me face to face about it instead of laughing behind my back. I mean sure i would love to be able to say i don’t give a flying frick what people say about me… but hell i am a self conscious person. and i am very proud of my monkey tail.