Farewell, Big Tex.

Today, Big Tex burned down.

Why do I care? For the three and a half miserable years I called Dallas, TX my home, the State Fair was a BIG DEAL. I hated the State Fair, because I worked at Fair Park. I was an aquarist at the Dallas Aquarium at Fair Park. I was the resident cold water expert and Giant Pacific Octopus expert.

(This is "Dozette", my first giant pacific octopus at the Dallas Aquarium at Fair Park; she lived 6 months past senescence and was put down to make room for a new octopus :( ) Anyway, so I saw my place of work turn into a fucking circus for a few weeks each year for State Fair. The first year I was there, our back area was still the camp ground for the carnies, which left me to finding used condoms and beer bottles on the back steps daily during Fair time. The next year the Carnies were moved elsewhere, except for the chap who ran the caramel apple stands and his fancy camper, which was parked right beside our education building and once hooked his camper up to our saltwater line. The Fair was always a pain in my side, because I all of a sudden had to get a special parking sticker and go through security for the place I worked at year round! One year I even had a co-worker who did not get a parking sticker ask me to "misplace" mine, sell it to her and ask for a new one (she did not know that those of us who received a sticker were told we would only get ONE and no more, no excuses) Did I mention the Texas State Fair was a BIG FUCKING DEAL?? So we all pretended to complain. And I will not lie, I used my grandfather's shipyard whistle and my uniform to direct my coworker's and my car out of the fair grounds at day's end (yes, you'd be surprised; if you wear ANY kind of uniform and blow a whistle, people will listen to you and assume you're some kind of official who is allowed to STOP THEM IN THEIR TRACKS!) But in the end, I kind of enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the State Fair. My husband and eldest son LOVED it (yes, I only had one child back then). Where else would I ever have been able to eat a "deep fried chili frito burrito"? (by the way, that was the winner of the fryer contest in like 2007 or 2008 and it tasted like angels dancing on your tongue!) And Big Tex was the icon of the Fair! He started his life as an enormous 52-foot Santa Claus before being bought and refinished into a 52-foot animatronic cowboy that greeted fair goers.

(latter picture copywrighted to the Novinski family) Big Tex stood for 60 years and he is just about the ONLY thing I will miss from Texas. I will not miss the heat. I will not miss living on a street that is just one block away from total Ghetto and one more block away from multi-million dollar mansions (I lived in "Munger Place" and was entirely too libertarian for my neighbos' tastes. I remember well being the only one speaking out against hiring a "private security company" to hang up monitored cameras for us. I remember well reminding my neighbors how dangerous the Patriot Act was and what a slippery slope it would be. I remember well how there were hobos everywhere. I remember well how some had the nerve to actually RING MY DOORBELL to panhandle me (here in Alaska, we have no hobos; they would just freeze to death. Don't mark me as a heartless person; somehow the perspective of freezing to death in Winter inspires people to NOT BE HOBOS). But I will miss Big Tex. Rest in peace, old friend. You brought me joy and the world is a sadder place now that I know you are not in it.