Well, it’s certainly been an interesting weekend.
On Friday evening and Saturday morning I toiled and ran around the house like crazy, trying to get all my chores done so I would have time for all the weekend fun I had planned. 
I went to bed at 3:00am on Friday and had to get up at 8:30am on Saturday, but managed to get it all done.
On Saturday, I went with some friends to Ren Fest. It was a lot of fun, but I was exhausted and kind of irritated by the time we went home. Irritated because I was so tired. But it was worth it. I had a corn dog for the first time (it didn’t impress me much) and a soft-serve chocolate ice cream for the first time in six years. I also had fries and an arepa. Usually I just enjoy the smell of food at fairs and don’t eat much or any at all because it all looks so fattening. But this time I ate all I wanted. 
I wanted to eat more but was too full!
There were a few things I didn’t like, though.
In these past couple of years both my mother and I have been reading many articles from Peta, about animal rights and abuse, and have become somewhat involved in Peta’s efforts (well, mostly my mom; she donates often, and buys pamphlets to give out and stickers that she puts in envelopes and such.) All this has helped me to be more conscious of the places where animal abuse can pop up. So when I saw the falcons chained at the fair, many under a blazing sun… Real animal tails for sale (everything from raccoon to fox tails) as well as TONS of leather-made items… I felt a little sad and uncomfortable. It’s weird, because I like leather, you know, and those tails were beautiful. A while ago I might have been able to ignore my conscience and buy one (if you take a look at the characters of my graphic novel, Meganeea, you can see why I would have wanted one!) But I can’t just do that anymore.
The worst part was the joust. The poor horses sure didn’t look like they were having fun. But what really upset me was when I saw someone lightly flick at one of the horse’s legs with a small whip. I’m sure that didn’t hurt the horse, BUT –if there is something I’ve learned, it is than if an animal responds to sight/crack of a whip, that it because the animal is almost without a doubt beaten with that whip backstage, likely in a very bad way.
There was also a very little horse, kind of like a pony, that a grown man rode for a portion of the act as a joke. It sure looked as if that man was too big and heavy for such a little horse. Even I wouldn’t have ridden it!
I bet it was also this that put me in a gloomy mood by the end of the day. Sigh…
That was just part of my weekend, though. I’ll post more later.
