One September night when I was 4, my father came home early from the butcher shop where he worked in the Florida Panhandle town of Pensacola. We were, he announced, going to the fair.
By "we" he meant three of us -- himself, my older sister and me. My mother would stay home with the baby. By "fair" he meant the traveling one that had roosted on the edge of town and each night was embossing a celestial invitation with a searchlight that streaked across the sky.
On the drive, all the way there,
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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