Beilue: Fair crew calls road home
Roberto Rodriguez / Amarillo Globe-News -
Crabtree Amusements employee James Wright gives Stacy Yglecias a few pointers before playing his game at the Amarillo Tri-State Fair & Rodeo.
from: amarillo.com
By: JON MARK BEILUE
September 20, 2012
James Wright sat on the edge of his booth around 5:30 p.m. on a warm, calm Tuesday. He waited for his work night to begin. His face wore the worn look of fatigue.
“Been a long year,” he said.
Another night in another town in another state. Step right up, bounce this miniature basketball off the backboard and into the goal — just like this — and win a stuffed prize.
“You gotta hook it up just like Kobe Bryant,” he told a prospective customer. “You got give it a finger roll. ... Ewww, almost.”
Roberto Rodriguez / Amarillo Globe-News -
Crabtree Amusements employee James Wright gives Stacy Yglecias a few pointers before playing his game at the Amarillo Tri-State Fair & Rodeo.
from: amarillo.com
By: JON MARK BEILUE
September 20, 2012
James Wright sat on the edge of his booth around 5:30 p.m. on a warm, calm Tuesday. He waited for his work night to begin. His face wore the worn look of fatigue.
“Been a long year,” he said.
Another night in another town in another state. Step right up, bounce this miniature basketball off the backboard and into the goal — just like this — and win a stuffed prize.
“You gotta hook it up just like Kobe Bryant,” he told a prospective customer. “You got give it a finger roll. ... Ewww, almost.”
Roberto Rodriguez / Amarillo Globe-News -
Crabtree Amusements employee Mark Hower hands David Wilson a ball before he play a game at the Amarillo Tri-State Fair & Rodeo.
Eight tents away, Mark Hower had the old traditional milk bottles set up, with the guitars and sports jerseys hanging as tempting treats. He stared and waited like he does most every night. You look tired, I said.
“Hey, it’s just part of the job,” he said.
It’s a different way to make a living, no doubt about that. What would you call these fair gypsies? Barkers, vendors, carnies? Wright called himself a “showman.”
You know them when you see them, in their blue knit shirts operating the rides and running the game booths. This week, they’re at the Amarillo Tri-State Fair & Rodeo. Next week and the week after that and the week after that, who knows?
“You know, I’m not sure where we’ll be,” Hower said. “We split up and I know we get together the first week of October in Waco. That’s a big one.”
read more:
http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2012-09-20/beilue-fair-crew-calls-road-home
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