Living the adventure

As a kid, the fair was a magical place you got to go to if you were good. If you weren't, you still got to go, but it wasn't any fun. It was a cruel and unusual punishment. You had to stand right by mom and watch as everyone else had the time of their life. That kid standing by mom? He was usually me.

Here I am, the lead man on the Century Wheel for Reed Exposition Midways, twenty-five years later. Never did I think about working on a carnival. I wasn't even looking for a job when this one fell in my lap. I have been lucky that way. Walking in Downtown Tulsa on a fine Spring day, headed to the library to turn in a book and get some computer time in. It was such a beautiful morning that I didn't even hear this man yelling at me from across the open-air mall. When I heard him say, hey, don't you know it's rude to ignore someone when they are talking to you? It startled me.

I snapped it too. Excuse me? I apologize, I was just in Lala Land. Do you want the job, he was asking for? I said, doing what? Working for a traveling Carnival. What is the pay? And do they pay per diem? Pay is 225.00 a week. A 10 dollar draw six days, and 175 on payday. No, they don't pay per diem. They rent motel rooms for the crew. How many people to a room? 4. Everything was true except people per room. 10 to 14 per room was the truth of that.

Red, the guy that hired me. And became a good friend.

I told Red I had to take a book back to the library, then get my computer time in so I could tell people I was off down the road. The good thing about me going to the library is Red and K.C. were looking to hire a few people from the Salvation Army. I showed them where to go and told them where I would be and off they went.

A couple of hours later I found myself with Red, K.C, and another guy named John. We were on our way to the show. I was a little disappointed when we got there. It was a Kmart parking lot ten miles from where they got me. Red took us to meet the boss. A little man named Jimmy Reed. He looked and me and said how do you feel about shaving your beard? It is gone tonight. Good, he looks at Red and says put him on the Castle and him, looking at John, on the fun slide.

So I watched a bunch of Munchkins run through this Castle all night long. I remember one little girl in particular from that day. She was six, and pretty fearless. The highlight of that first night was that little girl, she stayed on that Castle ride all night. It was one of her runs around when she ended up first in line. She looks up at me right in the eyes, gives an impish smile, and says "I'm a power puff girl" Then I step aside to let more on and she just stayed there until I acknowledged that she was a little superhero.

The show closed at about midnight and we all hung out to get our ten-dollar draw and ride to the motel. I am not an introvert, but it was a bit intimidating around all the ride guys and not knowing anything about what was going on. I was taught a lot that first night. It was an endless line of alcoholics and dope fiends. I mean, if you saw what I saw that night? You would never go on another Carnival ride again.

I made it to tear down the night. Whew, it was a challenge because all I wanted to do was leave Tulsa. I found out that all operators were responsible for tearing down two rides and getting them ready to move. Except for the crew of the Century Wheel, they started ours before the rest and were finished close to the same time. We finished, got our ten dollars got a little food, a pack of smokes, and as much beer as we could The next morning we were on our way to Fort Scott Kansas.

Now when I joined this Carnival, all I had was the clothes I was wearing. I was getting very ripe and was very self-conscious about it. But we had one day till payday when we got there. We got busy as soon as we got there and set up one of those amazing little county fairs. The next day was payday and fortunately, they didn't wait too long to distribute our money.

John, remember him? We knew 175 wasn't a lot of money to get everything we needed, so we teamed up. That first week we bought one tent, an ice chest, and a grill. And clothes and beer. oh yeah, food. The next week we did the same and then we were set. We set up the tent under a nice Cottonwood tree that the first night and found out we were set up in the parking area. It stormed that night and tested the tent, and no water made it in. Woke up in the morning, and we got a cool treat.

There was an old dilapidated Rodeo area behind a fence. We noticed a lot of action, going on, so John and I went, and it was the coolest thing I had seen up to that point. They were people of short stature. And they roared like the big boys. We were watching a tractor pull with the mighty mac riding lawn mowers. Some had v-8 motors, but the best ones, as I said, tractor pulls, had 3 1200 Sportster engines going on. It was badass.

The next spot was Wyandot County Fair in Wyandot County Fair in Kansas, just outside Kansas City. It was a bigger spot than Fort Scott and the Kmart in Tulsa. Here is where I started to get my spot in the, not management but the boss' notice. I got there and we set up the castle. Once finished we took a break and we heard a lot of yelling over on the Spinout ride. Jimmy was running that operator off. It wasn't Jimmy's ride. Terry Williams, one of three owners.

An hour later I see Jimmy coming over to me — How would you like to make more money? He asks. That was one of those questions that you said, here's your sign! Of course, I want to make more money. It was my first day working on the Century Wheel. And the start of pretty fun two years.

From Wyandot, we went to a huge show in Sedalia Missouri. The Reed Expo has around 100 rides altogether. Usually split into two different shows. But six times a season they come together for the big shows.

Sedalia Missouri mile-long is a huge fair. they have what is called the mile-long Midway. It was Monday morning when we pulled into the fairgrounds. Jimmy is off to locate rides. He sees us and comes running over and gives directions on where to put the ride to set up. Now we are in Missouri, in the middle of summer. It is roasting hot, and the relative humidity is around 70%, meaning you are leaving buckets of sweat. We have two and a half days to set up the show so we can take our time and not kill ourselves.

The show almost always opens on a Friday, but not in Sedalia. Thursday was opening day, so on Wednesday, we did a complimentary quick open night, meaning we opened for three hours to let the people come and have a look and a few rides for free.

By this time in the season, you're we have been working a few months almost steady. , you're Jimmy figures if you're working you're not getting into trouble. And mostly that is true. On opening day Jimmy walks up to us on the wheel and looks at Vince, the lead man, you guys, and says you guys can split the crew today. After you get the ride open, you guys take half a day off. Doesn't sound like much, but for Jimmy, that was very generous.

And it was right after payday. I had money in my pocket and free time. HAHA, I borrowed a ten-speed bike, went and saw my friend Ray-Ray, bought a half-ounce of weed, and took my laundry to the mat. Finished that returned to drop them off and went to find a place to smoke a joint and go eat. Boy was I hungry. I spotted a nice little Mexican place, went inside, and ordered half of the menu, and ate every bite...

I still had a couple of hours before I had to return and I had seen a Bolingalley on the way to eat. Stopped and bowled a few games and shocked myself with a 289 in the last game. When I left it was an alley right there. Awesome place to smoke a fatty before I go to work.

When I arrive back at The Wheel we have hired a new guy, Jerry from Sedalia. He seemed pretty cool Now I had to let the others have their time off. It was not very busy yet, but it was fixing to on Friday. The show closed at midnight and that was when our day began.

The first half of my first season is passed with the end of the Missouri State Fair The rest of the story is coming soon. Thank you, James.