Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Yesterday Earl and I went to the Allegan County Fair to see prizewinning pigs and cows, as well as prizewinning pies and jams. We sampled a local sausage and quenched our thirst with authentic lemonade. We saw harness races, an old schoolhouse, and a prize steer.

Since it’s an election year, we also saw the Republican booth and the Democratic booth; and, in a way, those were the most interesting exhibits of all. The Democratic booth occupied the eastern corner, while the Republican booth claimed the western one in the same building. This meant both parties held court just inside entrances and opposite each other. What could be more fair?

I imagine the county fair committee lost more than one sleepless night in deciding how those two booths would be positioned. In the Allegan neck of the woods, there are more Republicans than there are Democrats, but to favor one party obviously over the other in such a public setting surely courted backlash.

I bought two buttons at the Democratic booth while Earl hung out across the way. Given that I love grammar and believe it is essential to honing one’s analytical skills, the button I bought for me has President Bush reading a book and saying: “Is our children learning?” The button I bought for my good friend, Carol, reads: “Women for Kerry.”