amateur talent contest button

 i went to the minnesota state fair, took a day off to go to day one. early on i got some souvenirs, some postcards i bought. then it was an information booth which had maps and a free button. it was honoring the 50th anniversary of the amateur talent contest. only words on it, no pictures. i knew well enough to do some of the things i wanted to by myself before i met up with the meetup group. this included going on the giant slide where i screamed like lt. dan in 'forrest gump' during he hurricane. and i went to the fan central building where the st paul saints display is. we met at ballpark cafe, not far from fan central. i drank more beer than typical but i didn't mind as i was doing plenty of walking as well. i drank a surly a summit and a schell's. all beers from this state. of course i took plenty of pictures while there. some was of the crop art in the horticulture building but the one that means even more to me was the fine arts building near the end of the day. most of the art didn't do anything for me, but there is usually a handful that i really like. some of those i liked i am moved by. this year i liked one titled 'kaposia days' as i have been to this festival often, in south st. paul. it was three young ladies holding umbrellas. others of note were one called 'melancholy' and another called 'grace'. the former was a young lady thinking, but there was some red around her hands. the latter was also of a young lady, sitting in a nice chair with with a nice dress on. i really had a good time there, and this was something i needed when it has been tough at work lately. it may have helped that i was attending with somebody, the retired postal worker, the only friend i have made from meetup. i had the time to confide in somebody, and somebody i can learn from as well. and there was the food. i had a pork chop on a stick. later on it was a texas burger. at one point in the ag building i was by myself for a short time and even though music was everywhere the one song in my head wasn't was what was playing anywhere. it was crowded house's 'locked out'. it might remain a mystery as to why. at the end of the night i knew well enough to  find a bathroom near the smelling exit at o'gara's, as i would be taking two buses home. i was running to get from the first bus to the second in downtown st. paul as it was after 10pm and knew the next bus would have been a 30 minute wait. but in the end it was all worth it. during my walks i found 32 cents.