Blue ribbon by proxy: youth competitions at the fair
Every year, I look at the ribbon winners at the fair with a mix of admiration and envy. With thousands of categories, including flower arranging, painting, vegetable growing, sewing, canning and cake decorating, you would think I could be a prize winner in one. But, sadly, I don’t bake, can or sew. I attempted to grow a watermelon once and ended up with just a long vine, not even close to what I needed to win as the fair’s largest. As much as I love the State Fair, blue ribbons don’t seem like a reasonable goal for me. My children…