Today my sweetheart and I visited the State Fair. Neither of us had been in ages, but they were featuring the traveling Star Trek exhibit, so we went. I’m not much of a Star Trek fan, but he enjoys it and has told me numerous times about how wonderful the permanent exhibit in Vegas was, so when I heard the ad I suggested that we check it out.

I admit, I had mixed feelings about going to the fair. It’s in the middle of the city and it gets jam packed with multi-generational families pushing strollers and snarfing down fried everything. I’m also not a huge fan of the rides (although I do enjoy a good Tilt-A-Whirl from time to time) and the games are a rip-off. In fact much of the fair is a rip-off, but I decided to reserve judgement.

I’m glad I did, because we had a great time. The weather was wonderful, I found the little leather backpack I’ve been looking for in one of the vendor stalls (and she discounted her price), I got a cute little string name bracelet (my name is rarely available), and the Star Trek exhibit was fun. I even purchased the cheesy photo they took of us with the Starship Enterprise in the background.

We also checked out the livestock, marveled over how many categories of baked goods there must be, and strolled through the hundreds of sewing and craft entries. I have to say, I should have entered some of those categories, because my work is quite a bit better than many of the ribbon winners, especially in the quilting category. Still, it was enjoyable to view the fair, and we left just as it was getting packed.

Yes, I ate my funnel cake with strawberries and whipped cream. And yes, my entire outfit (black shirt, of course) ended up covered in powdered sugar. It was absolutely delicious, although messy since there was no fork available. And I know it’s teeming with empty calories, however, I walked all over the fairgrounds and I’m not going to beat myself up over it. It was a great day, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

TODAY’S QUESTION

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Now how is that for a big question? I’ve decided to give Dean Bocari’s daily passion prompts a go. I know I won’t do them every day, but they will be posted for the next 39 days, so the challenge is there. I may be a bit challenge happy at the moment.

Back to the question at hand. What would I do if I knew I could not fail? How to even go about conceiving of such a situation? My immediate thoughts go to my son and raising him to be the kind of man that he ought to be. What could I do to help ensure his future success? Maybe I could take a small investment and parlay it into a small fortune of the type that might pay for a top notch education? If I couldn’t fail, I might as well do my “investing” in Vegas and have a whale of a time doing it, too. But financial security is no guarantee of success.

Having the money for an upper echelon education doesn’t prepare one for its rigors. Money can’t teach a strong work ethic, tenacity, creativity, risk taking, and people skills. In fact, in my experience, it’s those strengths that allow people to acquire financial gains. Let’s face it, money is the effect, not the cause of strong character traits. So while I would love to amass a small fortune, just to take the edge off a little, it isn’t my goal in and of itself.

Instead of a focus on pure financial gain, I would want my “can’t fail” risk to involve personal growth that would serve as an example to said son, while having the delightful benefit of providing the aforementioned nest egg. So what it comes down to is this, if I knew I couldn’t fail I would take a year off from my current career and focus on living a creative life. I would write and sew and paint. I would hike and swim and travel. I would create poetry, take photos, and visit theaters near and far. I would get healthy once and for all, experimenting with new recipes, hiking new trails, and learning to use my body in new ways. Maybe I would dance or box or do yoga. Perhaps I would try Zumba or white water rafting. During that year I would record my experiences and my thoughts on them. Then I would publish that memoir. Naturally Oprah would love it, and it would become an instant best seller.

Oh I know, the world can live without my self-absorbed prattling, but there are moments, flashes really, when I feel like I have something important to say. Sometimes I’m able to get it down in the way I imagine, and other times I’m not, but I still like to believe that there is an audience for me. There are others like me fighting the battles I’m fighting, reinventing themselves every day, and challenging themselves to be their best. If I knew I couldn’t fail, I would be honored to walk among them and be their champion.