Tired Feet? Find Me.
I am blue. I get walked all over. I work 12 hour days. And I sure do love my job!
I was not originally blue when I was made in the 1930’s, but I was painted that way later. Each day I run all day long, working the outer loop of Freedom Hall and the Kentucky Exposition Center during the Kentucky State Fair. In 25 minutes, I invite guests to experience the Fair in a 360 degree perspective.
I get by with a little help from my friend, John Deere tractor, who pulls me along each day and helps me to show folks around. I also get to hang with Jim and Wanda Armstrong. Jim is my driver, and a great one at that. He has loved driving the John Deere that pulls me around for 7 years now. His wonderful wife, Wanda, is my tour guide. She sits with me and announces all the stops where I get to say hello and goodbye to the guests who use my services.
All that can be seen, heard, smelled or felt at the Fair can be done on my route. Passing by Freedom Hall, the smoky smell of BBQ from the Q Tent fills the cracks in my wooden seats. When passing by Broadbent Arena, the thick scent of fresh hay and not-so-fresh “something else” linger from the stalls where the animals are kept. A little girl about age four shrieks with excitement as we pass a Holstein calf being lead through Parking Lot J to its trailer.
“Look mommy, that cow is in the parking lot!”
As we make our way past an empty Cardinal Stadium I think about how the thousands of empty seats will soon be packed for the free concert tonight. It is only 3 p.m. right now, and though the sun is beating down hard on the thighs of my passengers, but the cool breeze that comes as we move is refreshing and reviving, and my roof provides a nice shade.
We chug along, making our way toward the South Wings. We pass all kinds of people; many of them want to take a ride. I see young men trying to impress young women, couples holding hands while their other hand is clutching a half-eaten ice cream cone and a child asleep on their mother’s shoulder while she waits in line for a tasty treat. Two women sitting near my front are discussing how they have been to the Fair many times together, a lot when they were younger. They have been friends since before the twentysomething girl beside them was born, they say. She smiles.
“Here we are at South Wing,” Wanda calls out to the passengers. “You can do all the shopping you could ever imagine here in these wings!”
In the distance, I see a blurry Thrillway. The heat coming from the asphalt on the warm day make waves in my view of the Ferris Wheel, but it’s still a beautiful sight to see. I will do my best to make it over there and drop off the eager youngsters waiting for a thrill.
But first, I am going to wrap back around to Freedom Hall. I make a stop, honk to Freddy Farm Bureau, pick up some new passengers and start my journey again. Man it’s good to be a Tram.
