Fair's a job for many

Resslin' Around, by Casey Ressler

Wouldn't it be great if we could take the summer off and then work hard for 12 days, make enough cash to get us through the winter, and then worry about money sometime around May?

Sounds like a perfect situation to me. And to hundreds of teen-agers who look at the fair not as a 12-day circus of fun, food and fireworks, but rather as a way to line their pockets before many head off to college.

The fair affords a great opportunity for teens and young adults to make a quick buck -- actually, quite a few bucks -- at the end of the summer. Each year, kids line up and patrol the fairgrounds in the days leading up to the fair, trying to find a job. College students can go off with a little extra money in their pockets, and high school kids can make enough money to put gas in their cars for the entire winter.

"I'm leaving for college in two weeks, and I really need the cash," said Greg Olson. "I can't say that I really need the cash enough. I'm broke."

Been there, done that.

The Alaska State Fair was my first experience with the "real world" of working. At my parent's booth, I flipped funnel cakes, sugared them and took the customers' money. In my mind, it was almost as bad as having to split wood in the winter in terms of enjoying things that were deemed "volunteer" by my parents but there really wasn't a choice in the matter on our parts. As my friends ran around the fairgrounds, I was stuck in the booth working. Oh, how rough my pre-teen life was.

Even as a kid, you find ways to make your job more enjoyable. For us, that meant taking hour-long breaks and spending mom and dad's money faster than they could make it. Hawaiian shaved ice, baked potatoes, cheesesteaks, ice cream cones and any other bad-for-you food was on our lists. Looking back on it, we actually worked probably 10 minutes a day and spent the rest of the time running around with our friends having fun. So maybe it really wasn't a job after all.

But now, as a child trapped in an adult's 2XL body, I finally get it. Making ends meet now is hard enough. When I was in college, it was even worse, as every penny becomes important. There are things that you simply must pay for -- tuition, books, an apartment, beer. A 12-day job in which you can make a handful of cash is an enticing proposition. Just ask young adults like Olson.

I smile and laugh when I see kids like him running around the fair, trying to find a quick job. They don't care if they are parking cars, dipping apples in caramel or flipping funnel cakes. They just need a few extra bucks before they head out into the real world for the next couple of months, and the fair gives them that opportunity.

If everybody had the drive and determination to find a job like these kids do, the social situation would be a lot better off.

Casey Ressler (valleylife@frontiersman.com) is the Valley Life editor. He will be at the fair gaining weight all week.