highline56 Vignettes

This was taken on Sept. 19, 1955 at the Puyallup fair. A big group of us all went to the fair that day. Shortly after we arrived, a group of us were strolling along the midway listening to the barkers trying to scam us out of our money with their "fixed" games. Being naive to the nth degree in those days, I figured there was no way I couldn't knock those milk bottles down with a baseball. Lo and behold, my first pitch sent all three bottles flying and I won a huge stuffed animal which I gave to one of the girls because I didn't want to carry it around all day. (I don't recall which one.) Of course, now all the girls wanted one and, enjoying my sudden popularity, I proceeded to try to win one for each of them. I gladly paid another quarter for three balls and set out to do just that. Time after time, quarter after quarter, I gallantly tried to knock those bottles down with my best pitch again and again but never once succeeded. I barely had enough money left for a hot dog as my confidence, as well as all the attention I was getting began to melt away like the ice cream cones some of us were eating. With tail tucked, I suggested we proceed on to a different endeavor. Maybe something a little easier like the "Haunted House " or something like that. I thought about suggesting the "Tunnel of Love" but I figured I wouldn't have any more luck in there than I had with the baseballs and milk bottles. It certainly wasn't easy being a teenager, was it?