The 2024 Alaska State Fair is officially over. It is 10:00 p.m., and it ended at 8:00 p.m. I baled at 7:00 p.m. – had Pete give me a lift back to the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel. He went back to listen to music. There is a lot of it.

The bands from out of town – I call them the end of the road bands because this is the end of the road for many. Alaska is the furthest place on their minds when it comes to performing. It’s sorta like whale shit – it (like them) hit bottom, always with the expectation that the next place to go is up.

Yes, there is a lot of music at the ASF. There is also a lot of food and a lot of rides. This year, we managed to avoid the parking hoo haah by getting a parking permit. Pete also figured out that we could park closer to the exhibit areas where our book boxes were by going behind the Red Gate trail. This worked really well for us.

Today, the last day, I spent considerable time at the Red Gate area, in between the Colony Barn and the children’s Tiny Tot area. I got tired toward the end, and simply said to passerby, “free books.” They were tired too – very few actually wanted books.

We did not keep track of numbers of books going out. A mistake, this would have been a good thing to do, but Pete figures we parted with 30 boxes.

I again went to the area where the horses are stabled, and I passed out a book entitled Horses, which is full of color photos of horses. I also left books on the table where the concessionaires were taking money for pony rides. I must say, this was a brilliant idea. Otherwise, these books would have continued to sit in the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel.

The Story Time endeavor went well – once again, getting the parents of the children involved in this endeavor was extremely difficult. We got seven to come into the Mat-Su College Cabin – it’s a small space so three readings of three-four children turned out to be ideal.

Pete pulled the recycling cart and gathered up recyclables. Me, I worked at the sorting table, putting cans in one cart and bottles in another. In a few day’s time, Pete will pick up the green recycling barrels. Tomorrow he’ll begin the process of relocating the newspaper boxes, that is, all ten.

My feeling about the Alaska State Fair, for me at least, is that I feel like a moth attracted to the flame. I would go back tomorrow, if time allowed

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Now that right there is from the inprint of my computer key. I nodded off but the computer did not.

I would go back tomorrow if time permitted. I did enjoy stocking the newspaper boxes. I also enjoyed finding quiet places to hang out. And I enjoyed watching Pete work the crowd, which is something that I cannot do.

Next: 239. 9/3/24: Some Won’t See the Sun