Since returning home from the Parade for the Saint Mary’s County Fair today, I haven’t been able to get some of the events out of my mind. But, before we get to that discussion, let’s define exactly what the Fair is.

I confess, I’m not an expert on the County Fair, and my definition may be totally off-base, so I decided to Google it. Here’s what I got: “Since 1947, country and city residents of Southern Maryland have enjoyed the St. Mary’s County Fair. This four day festival of non-stop agricultural exhibits and entertainment is sponsored by the St. Mary’s County Fair Association, a non-profit volunteer group dedicated to the preservation of our agricultural heritage. Competitions are open to all residents of Southern Maryland. Cash prizes and ribbons are awarded. Enter the fruits of you labor and become a part of this St. Mary’s County tradition.”

Now back to our discussion. You see, my being at the Fair today was due to the “entertainment” word noted above. You may even consider me as being part of the entertainment committee being that I donated my kid to play an instrument and march in the Parade.

If you didn’t get a chance to see our County’s finest young adults out there marching and playing their chosen instruments, you truly missed out on a great show. Not to mention all those fine young adults that showed up in their military uniforms and the folks with the classic cars, the princesses, the horses, and the farm equipment.

All of that sounds pretty much like the paragraph description above right? So, where did all the politicians come from? I’ve read the Fair description paragraph above over and over and it doesn’t mention anything about politicians being in the Fair.

Is it normal for the Fair Parade to resemble a political rally? Do anti-abortion, religious groups normally follow the high school marching bands and the politicians as a Parade group? You see, this is my first Fair Parade, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but as I was initially entering the parking lot of the Technical Center to catch a glimpse of my kid, a gentleman in a yellow shirt came rushing up to me.

At first I thought I was in trouble, because I’d seen a State Trooper wearing a yellow shirt also that morning, but this gentleman smiled and thrust out his hand out instead of a badge. When he said his name was Tom McKay, boy was I relieved that he was just a politician and not a State Trooper!

I hadn’t done anything wrong that I was aware of, but you can’t be too careful in these days of heightened security. Well, that was my trip to the Fair today.

Oh, and before the Parade was over, someone pressed a religious pamphlet and some fake money into my hand.

I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think it was anybody in McKay’s group that gave me the money…