As the Delaware State Fair winds to a close this weekend, I have had a great time seeing all the friends that I made in past years and making a lot of new ones. I have also pretty much checked off every item on the Delaware Political Candidate’s State Fair To-Do List.  Let’s review:

1. Wander through grandstand and gaze longingly at cool stuff that other campaigns are giving away which you wish you had thought of.  Check.  This year, though, I had no tchatchke envy.  Nobody was giving away anything too exciting.

2. Shake hands with at least 300 people who then blurt out “I’m from Maryland” and laugh hysterically as if they had just qualified for “America’s Top Comic.”  Check.

3. Eat corn dog.  Check.  Still the emotional high point of the fair. 

4. Serve drinks to diners in The Grange.  Check.  I always serve drinks on Thursday instead of attending the Governor’s Day banquet that is sponsored by Blue Cross, because every time I ate a bite of steak at the banquet I would know that it was paid for by overcharging someone for health insurance.  This year, they have a new requirement for serving drinks in The Grange: you must wear a hair net or a hat.  In spite of my vague recollection that one of the hip rap stars has popularized wearing hair nets, I went with a Rapa Scrapple hat.

5. Lose car in giant State Fair parking field.  Check.  Twice.

6. Shake hands with concertgoers who think that I work for the Fair and insist that I direct them to their seats. Check.

You can see photos from my visit to the State Fair Thursday here. The boys and I will be back this weekend for one more visit with the baby chickens.