Jimmy Carter says YES!

Saturday was A FULL DAY...we wanted to get up early to go to the inaugural FARMER'S MARKET at BISHOP PARK, which is down the street from our house...but, we ended up sleeping-in and didn't get to the park until almost noon. By the time we got there, all the produce was gone. According to one of the volunteers working the market, about 1000 eager people showed up at 8am, and by 9am, all the produce was bought up! We walked around and looked at some of the booths and promised ourselves that next Saturday, we'd get to the market early and get some fresh, locally grown vegetables:





All that was left, produce-wise, were some spice plants:





Homemade soap that looks good enough to eat:



"Locals only" propaganda:





Disappointed, we left Bishop Park and headed to THE GRIT for brunch. On the way there, Missy made some "power moves" on her phone...



...then, Missy made a "to-do" list while we waited for our grub:









The waitress asked us if we wanted dessert and we told her we were "curious" about the choco taco. She straight up told us that she wouldn't recommend it! We ordered it anyways, because it only cost a buck. It was "just ok":



On our way home from brunch, we stopped at NORMAL HARDWARE in Normal Town to see if they had old-timey push lawnmowers. They did, but they were a little out of my target price range:



We went across the street and looked at scooters at RE-CYCLE...we were tempted by the $50-a-month financing on a couple of cute scooters. We also visited NOURISH, a new boutique that opened a couple of doors down from Re-Cycle...and then grabbed a couple of cokes at the BLACK FOREST BAKERY...



We stopped at home just long enough for Missy to get some of her orders together...then, it was off to the post office. We used the after-hours robot-machine to process the packages:



After the post office, it was off to the GEORGIA SQUARE MALL. We planned on meeting Blake, Sara, and Betsy in the food court, before heading out to the black-top CARNIVAL that sprang up in the mall parking lot. As we approached the midway, it was as if we had discovered a brand new world...



We saw this crazy-ass hang glider ride that you rode while laying on your stomach...





...and this three-story fun house with all this funny artwork all over it...









We saw this carney in the midway taking a nap in this office chair...



...and this kiddie ride with this very nervous-looking bird and very nervous-looking catepillar...







Missy and I had flashbacks about CHINA when we saw this ride:





Missy practiced her TORI AMOS impression:





OMG...I think I've got a new calling:





After scoping everything out, we decided to warm-up with the ferris wheel:













Our attempt at shooting a cute self-portrait failed miserably:



After the ferris wheel ride, Missy suggested that we ride the merry-go-round...we ended up on the TILT-A-WHIRL instead. Missy and I shared a "booth" with Betsy, and we were able to get it whipping like mad...









Every now and then we caught glimpses of Blake and Sara spinning around in their booth...



Missy fake-vomited for the camera...



After spinning ourselves dizzy on the Tilt-A-Whirl, we decided to go on another spinning ride called the TORNADO...



At first, we had Sara and Missy - the two PETITE gals - spin the tornado while I took pictures and Blake hung on to his stomach for dear life...











After Missy and Sara's arms wore out, the guys took over...



The first minute-and-a-half of the Tornado was pure fun...we were spinning in one direction while the ride spun in another - we were basically a giant gyroscope and our insides were pulled every which way...but then, the worst thing happened...I TOTALLY got MOTION SICKNESS in the worst possible way! I NEVER get sick on rides...but, I thought that I was going to barf on myself for sure...I begged everyone to stop spinning the ride. We were able to get our compartment to stop spinning, but the ride itself kept going for another good thirty seconds. I held my mouth with my hand, hoping that I could at least hold things in until the ride stopped and I could get to a trash can. When we got off, my legs felt like jelly and I broke out in a cold sweat. Instead of vomiting into a trashcan and embarrassing myself, I took some deep breaths and tried to regain my composure. We walked around some more, to get the jellies out of our legs, but I just started to feel worse than ever. I really started to regret having an M&M BLIZZARD and COCA-COLA in the food court of the mall, just before heading out to the carnival...doh! My bad. I felt so sick - I asked Missy to drive my car for me and take us home...earlier that evening, we stopped at THE GAP and Missy bought a pair of pants before we met everyone in the food court...well, when we got to the car, I took Missy's new pants out of the bag and told her that I would hold on to the empty bag "just in case"...as soon as we got home, I crawled into bed and napped for about an hour. I had never ever got motion sickness that bad before...and amazingly, I didn't throw up!

When I got up, I felt like a new man! The nauseous feelings and dizziness went away, and I even got my appetite back! Around that same time, Sara called Missy to see if I was OK. I was more than happy to report that I was indeed OK. After Sara called, we had Jay on the phone...he invited us over to his and Terri's place to watch this awesome documentary called OFF THE CHARTS. The movie explored the strange-but-true "SONG-POEM" industry/subculture...it's kinda hard to boil down the essence of the movie in a nutshell...so just do yourself a favor and rent it, buy it, put it on your Netflix, whatever...just SEE THE MOVIE if you ever get the chance. It's totally worth it, especially if you are a songwriter and/or a musician, or have a twisted sense of humor and/or a fascination for the off-beat...here's a couple little samples:





One of the "extras" on the dvd was this made-for-public-access-cable-television "variety show" called AMERICA SINGS. Clearly filmed sometime in the 80's, the show featured several no-name talents performing songs written by no-talent no-names...it was one of those "it's so bad it's good" moments...the perfect way to cap off a long and crazy day...











(Thanks Blake, Sara, and Betsy for fun times at the carnival, even though I got sick - totally my own fault! I know now that BLIZZARDS and TORNADOS don't mix! And THANKS, Jay and Terri, for introducing me and Missy to the magic of "Off The Charts"...yay!)