Minneapolis poet Leslie Ball reads a poem in honor of the closing day at the 2006 Minnesota State Fair.
Ball is spending each day at the Fair watching, listening, and writing.
Minneapolis poet Leslie Ball reads a poem in honor of the closing day at the 2006 Minnesota State Fair.
Ball is spending each day at the Fair watching, listening, and writing.
SPEAKER: Last night's storm washed everything clean. Early sun peaks around the space tower, gleams in the puddles at our feet. It's our final morning on the fair grounds. Goodbye to this haven of peace and equality. Where senators walk next to shoe salesman in a sea of pedestrian traffic. Where we use a brilliant network of mass transit, and we honor the Earth and her stewards, the farmers.
Where we give thanks for our bounty and reward creativity. We take note of lessons learned and listen to each other's stories, where we break bread and sing songs. The other evening, Garrison Keillor invited everyone in the grandstand to sing the National anthem. He talked about how the future of our country depends on what we do.
I think about how our country needs us, how our world needs us, how we need each other. How we need rituals to come together, rub up against each other, strike up conversation with a stranger as we stand side by side staring at butter heads. Yes, we overeat. Yes, we overspend. Yes, we overextend. Still, at our core, I believe we are a good people who long to love each other, love ourselves, our home, our planet. Let our big little fair be one of many ways we celebrate our big little world.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Digitization made possible by the National Historical Publications & Records Commission.
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