Stripes: You either got ‘em or you don’t. So says the sign emblazoned on the wall behind the Grant Zebra pen. Man, what a cool place. There may be dirt-caked, sticky-hot rides galore and a close-knit community of fellow carnival-goers to be enjoyed at the Puyallup Fair, but I definitely got my biggest kicks in the animal barn. This was no average farm animal exhibit as one would expect out in the middle of nowhere. Besides the run-of-the– mill milk cows and a kind of wretched-looking donkey, there were a couple of grumpy Watusi cattle, several reindeer (which I didn’t even know were real), and some unusually large turkeys. Before entering the Puyallup, I thought fairs were for “kids” and that herds of animals were solely for toddlers and boys to goggle at. Oh boy, was I ever wrong.

Upon first glance, I saw a glinting thoroughbred mare, just asking to be petted and loved. But my heart clenched when I saw the few square inches of pen granted this animal. With monstrous, elegant hooves and a flowing chestnut mane, the mare was obviously itching to romp and play and I longed to swing open the padlocked, paint-chipped iron door of her veritable cage and send her on his way. But I just sighed (probably for the best) and moved on down the sawdust-covered corridor.

I was then immediately drawn to a different pen, a bit larger due to higher population, when I saw a mother pig feeding three pink youngsters, one of whom was being trampled by his sisters as he reached for some nourishing mama milk. As my company and I gazed with wonderment (true fascination) at this miracle of nature, there suddenly appeared if from nowhere a horde of piglets, all jumping and crashing towards lunchtime. Strictly ignoring the hungry hogs, the mother pig sleepily allowed the endless crowd to leap over, fall on, and squish her ears and snout. It was fascinating to watch the battle for food, one not unlike skirmishes I witness and become a part of, every time a family get-together equals the breaking of a religious fast or a holiday dinner. Unable to leave on my own accord, my ever-loving friends had to drag me away, noting that there was limited time till dark and tactlessly mentioning their opinion of pig watching, which was somehow not as high as my own.

After I was able to tear myself away from the pigs, we made our way over to the end of the row of pens, trying to avoid tripping amongst the hordes of eight-child families and old people in wheelchairs, I came to see very unexpectedly the animal of my dreams: a zebra. Sure, I had observed zebras – while never having never seen Watusi cattle or reindeer in the wild or otherwise before– but zebras are so cool and often stray far off into the hills when one tries to get a glimpse of them at Woodland Park Zoo. I wanted to clutch it in my arms and take it home with me! But of course that is not a nice thing to do, and there was also the sign DO NOT TOUCH THE ANIMALS OR REACH HANDS THROUGH BARS. However, this time I was allowed sufficient time to gaze at the striped wonder. That is, my friends were decently interested in the zebra and also could not move for all the hustle and bustle of the narrow barn.

Eventually we headed out the door of the barn, doing our best to escape before sundown. But before we had actually crossed the threshold I saw not one but two kids REACHING THEIR HANDS THROUGH THE BARS and going so far as to TOUCH THE ANIMALS. Even worse, I then noticed an old grandpa figure petting the donkey’s nose. Shouldn’t he know better? The blatant disrespect for both the rules as well as the animals themselves incensed me. My heart really did palpitate (in a bad way, though) and, almost in tears with anger, I stomped out of the barn, almost sure that my fair experience had been ruined.

Despite my unpleasant witnessing of heinous sign-disobeying, thinking back, I know that the excursion will always remain a fond memory for me. Romping with friends and befriending romping animals is never a bad deal. So don’t worry, be happy, and do the Puyallup!

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