The Mouse Game

Next weekend is the Aurora Farmers Fair. Before I go any further it should be noted that I do not like fairs/carnivals/festivals and I do not like crowds. This fair is typical... rides, games of chance designed to separate you from your money or give you a junky prize if you win. Fried food of every variety and thousands of people congregated in the street doing "who knows what!".

I have been going to the Aurora Farmers fair since 1989 (that's when I started dating Tami). I only went to be with Tami and because Jessi enjoyed it. When Jessi grew up we started taking Michael and Abby. Through it all there has been a family tradition of playing "The Mouse Game". This game has a large wooden wheel divided into sections of lots of different colors. Each colored space has a hole in the wheel. As the wheel is spun a mouse is placed in the center of the wheel and he runs around for a few seconds before darting into one of the holes. The job of the player is to put a quarter on the colored space that matches the color where the mouse went into the hole. If you put a quarter on the red space and the mouse runs into the red hole, you win. It sounds easy but it's not... There are 20-25 different colors to choose from.

This family tradition was started when my father-in-law, Frank took Jessi to play the game when she was about 3. He has been playing the game with all his grandchildren since. This year we intend to continue the tradition with Sveta. I have no idea what she will think when she sees that little mouse running around the big, spinning wheel, but we're about to find out :-)

*Note* I can't say for sure, but I think at some point a gerbil was substituted for the mouse. It doesn't really matter... next weekend a rodent of some kind will dash into a colored hole and a child will squeal with delight and dozens of others will groan as their quarter disappears into the pocket of the carny worker. I will post pics after the fair next weekend.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and eat a corndog and a fried twinkie to prepare my stomach for the festivities!

Here's a pic to give you an idea of what I'm trying to describe.