Once upon a ferris wheel
I remember going to Buffalo Days, the annual fair in Regina, when I was about 14 years old. My little brother and I got to go by OURSELVES. We were the epitome of cool and grown up. I had enough money saved to get my ride ticket, and Mom gave me enough for K's ticket. And I took some extra because fair food is full of sugary fatty goodness, and we all know how much I like sugary fatty goodness. So Mom dropped us off and we had a few hours of freedom before we had to meet her somewhere. Which I don't think I listened to or remembered, but it didn't bother me at the time of dropoff.
So my aunt, who went every year with her kids, had told us we could get day passes for cheap, which included the fair entry fee. Lo and behold, when we went to get some of these, turns out they were out of these advance tickets. Mom dropped us off cheerfully though, in the knowledge that I was responsible and could handle it. So, fine, we had to pay the entry fee. I paid the childrens' fare for K, who was 12, and the student fare for me. And then we went to get our ride tickets.
Which is when some nagging little fears started to poke and prod me. The tickets were more than my aunt had said. And I hadn't counted on paying the gate fee when I calculated money to bring for extras. So I ended up with around 40 cents left after paying for the ride tickets. But hey, that was fine, we had RIDE TICKETS! We went on so many rides. I've always been a firm believer in going early so you can beat out all the after-work people and the sleep-in-till-mid-afternoon people. We could go on any ride without waiting, it was great. We rode for hours, finally stopping to go get a drink of free water, which was the only kind we could afford.
And then the shit hit the fan. K is diabetic, and had just become so recently. His blood sugar started to get low. Which would have been fine, had we more than 40 cents with which to purchase sugary items. And at Buffalo Days, everything costs an arm and a leg. Or two legs. You don't need legs to ride. So those nagging little doubts turned into an all-out AMY FREAK SESSION. Really, it doesn't take much for this to happen. In hindsight I realize I could have gone to one of the many first aid stations they have there and begged ignominiously for some sugar, or syrup, or sweet sweet candy. But hey, I was 14, what did I know? So we ran around looking for free sugar packets, and K snarfed some of those. But it wasn't helping much, he needed real food. So I figured, take him into the Agridome where nothing was happening, and he could sit around while I ran around scrounging more sugar, or looking for miracles to happen.
And then a miracle did happen. We ran into my brother and his fiance, or my sister and her boyfriend, or some other happy related person we knew with money and food-finding capabilities. (transcendent heavenly miracle music inserted here) We were saved. And then Mom happened along too. Very convenient. So all these responsible adults were able to fix it, and life was good again.
When I explained to Mom why I couldn't buy him food, she got mad at me. For not having enough money. And when I tried to explain about the cost of the tickets, and gate fee, and freaking out, I still got no sympathy. And she didn't even pay me back for the portion of the gate fee and ride ticket I'd spent on K. Life is so unfair.
So my aunt, who went every year with her kids, had told us we could get day passes for cheap, which included the fair entry fee. Lo and behold, when we went to get some of these, turns out they were out of these advance tickets. Mom dropped us off cheerfully though, in the knowledge that I was responsible and could handle it. So, fine, we had to pay the entry fee. I paid the childrens' fare for K, who was 12, and the student fare for me. And then we went to get our ride tickets.
Which is when some nagging little fears started to poke and prod me. The tickets were more than my aunt had said. And I hadn't counted on paying the gate fee when I calculated money to bring for extras. So I ended up with around 40 cents left after paying for the ride tickets. But hey, that was fine, we had RIDE TICKETS! We went on so many rides. I've always been a firm believer in going early so you can beat out all the after-work people and the sleep-in-till-mid-afternoon people. We could go on any ride without waiting, it was great. We rode for hours, finally stopping to go get a drink of free water, which was the only kind we could afford.
And then the shit hit the fan. K is diabetic, and had just become so recently. His blood sugar started to get low. Which would have been fine, had we more than 40 cents with which to purchase sugary items. And at Buffalo Days, everything costs an arm and a leg. Or two legs. You don't need legs to ride. So those nagging little doubts turned into an all-out AMY FREAK SESSION. Really, it doesn't take much for this to happen. In hindsight I realize I could have gone to one of the many first aid stations they have there and begged ignominiously for some sugar, or syrup, or sweet sweet candy. But hey, I was 14, what did I know? So we ran around looking for free sugar packets, and K snarfed some of those. But it wasn't helping much, he needed real food. So I figured, take him into the Agridome where nothing was happening, and he could sit around while I ran around scrounging more sugar, or looking for miracles to happen.
And then a miracle did happen. We ran into my brother and his fiance, or my sister and her boyfriend, or some other happy related person we knew with money and food-finding capabilities. (transcendent heavenly miracle music inserted here) We were saved. And then Mom happened along too. Very convenient. So all these responsible adults were able to fix it, and life was good again.
When I explained to Mom why I couldn't buy him food, she got mad at me. For not having enough money. And when I tried to explain about the cost of the tickets, and gate fee, and freaking out, I still got no sympathy. And she didn't even pay me back for the portion of the gate fee and ride ticket I'd spent on K. Life is so unfair.
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