The year was 1939, the time of the San Francisco Treasure Island World’s Fair. Very few people in our Yakima Valley, Washington, town of 2000 made the trip. For most folks, it was simply out of reach.
The Adams family rented a little house on the edge of town for $15 a month. Odd jobs were not plentiful, but with the help of neighbors, Mr. Adams was able to keep food on the table for his wife and three kids. He had an old trap of a car to get around in and a cow to provide milk for his children.
Then came the Fair, 750 miles away. One morning a neighbor spotted the Adams family loaded in the car, with an assortment of luggage strapped to the running board. “Where are you headed, John?” he asked.
”To the Fair!” Mr. Adams replied.
The neighbor was dumbfounded. Later, he learned that Mr. Adams had sold the cow to pay for the trip. Folks almost exploded-amazed at such irresponsibility.
Many times since then, my wife and I have recalled the incident. But strangely, we have come to view it in a different light. I am sure the Adams children never forgot the years of austerity, but above all those memories will be one: “We went to the Fair!”
Not long ago, my wife and I work reconsidering the trip that we often had wished we could take. Each time, we have dismissed the idea because we couldn’t afford it. But this time I said, “Honey, let’s just sell the cow and go.”
And we did.
-S. Edward Tesh
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