Most small towns in Indiana have town festivals throughout the year. In my hometown, when I was a child, I always looked forward to the 4-day Fall Festival, which they call the Mardi Gras. Yesterday I happened to be back in my hometown on personal business, and I saw that all the streets were blocked off around the courthouse square. That could only mean one thing: Mardi Gras. Three sides of the square were occupied with carnival sideshows and rides, and the remaining side was lined with food booths and an entertainment stage.
Returning to downtown in the evening, I managed to escape the Lion’s Club booth, which offered their traditional half-pound monster burgers. However, I did fall for the Friends Church’s pork barbecue sandwich, which, I must confess, was delicious. I walked by the entertainment stage as the young high school-age girls were taking turns doing a karaoke number of their choice. I was surprised by the great range of musical ability that I witnessed in just 10 minutes, everything from terrific to horrible. One girl absolutely could not carry a tune at all, and I mumbled something to myself to that effect. I should have more discreet with my feelings, I know. The young girl standing beside me said to me, “I can keep a secret.” I’m sure that she must have known the girl that was trying to sing.
The funniest thing that I saw along the food court was a food trailer with a hand-painted sign on the side of the trailer, which said: Pentecostal Rabbit Ears. For anyone not familiar with the terminology, “rabbit ears” is deep-fried flat bread that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar.
