Last week my son learned a valuable lesson about blue ribbons at the Shenandoah County Fair. Along with two of his siblings, my 8-year-old, Kason, entered two exhibits in the youth division. There were approximately six billion categories to choose from, but he decided to take his talents only to the drawing competition. He was confident this was the year he would finally take home a coveted blue ribbon.
On the first day of the fair, his entries, along with hundreds of others across all categories and age groups, were registered and hung in display cases in a long exhibit hall that I thought smelled more like hay than creativity.