La Feria Ganadera

August 10: Our county fair housed a showcase of prize cows, a cotton candy machine, a popcorn machine, a plasma screen tv, a satellite dish and three ancient carnival rides. After scoping the array of delightfully well groomed cows - and I’m talking cows at least 2 or 3 times the size of the largest cow you have ever seen - like a large buffalo or something, my brothers and I got drinks and watched the X-games on ESPN in a little tent (in the middle of the campo on a subtropical island) …you never, never know what to expect here in the DR – never! After a while of motorcross, bmx and some fried foods it was getting dark outside and we were preparing to leave for home when my little brother turned to me, begging me to take him on la estrella (s-tray-ya) – the star.

La estrella was a medium sized ferris wheel, not nearly the size of some I had been on before, but just glancing at it you would swear it was taken right from Coney Island around the turn of the century…the last century…a hundred years ago. The paint was gone, along with its original motor and in its place was a makeshift machine moving the iron structure faster than I had ever seen one move. As the cars moved over the front side of the wheel they accelerated a bit and the people squealed. It did look like a lot of fun, and opportunities like this are incredibly rare where we live. The family looked at me waiting to see if I was brave enough to accompany the young boy on this adventure, which of course I was, I was actually really excited. But for some reason I shook my head. “I would really love to,” I said “but here? I don’t think so.” I felt even worse saying it this way because this is where he lives, not near Cedar Point or in the United States where there are regulations, lawsuits and security attached to things like this. But that’s what I said and with both us slightly disappointed, we left.

Less than a half hour our uncle stormed into the house, searching frantically to locate our cousin who went to bed early with a headache - a cable in the center of la estrella had snapped and the two sides of giant wheel, filled with people, moved in separate directions. Fortunately no one died but several people were severally injured, a young girl won’t walk again and I think Samuel learned a new lesson, thanking me.