Chapter Six: The Fish Fry
My grandparents did not stay long. They said that they just wanted to stop by for a minute and that they would see us at church tomorrow. After they left, Dad gave me an additional $10 for the carnival.
"You worked hard and tried your best. That’s what’s important,” he said.
Grandma Becky told me not to tell Grandpa Howard that she had given me the money I needed, but she didn’t say anything about Dad. I felt guilty taking the money from him, but he might say something to Grandpa Howard about it if I told him Grandma Becky had already given me $10. He is always claiming that they spoil me too often. I didn’t want to get Grandma Becky in trouble, so I kept quiet. Besides, now I had plenty of extra money for food and games.
We left for the Fish Fry at 5:00 like Dad had planned. We probably should have left earlier. Although we got there about 6:00, we had to drive around for almost another hour to find a parking place. There must have been a million people there. I guess everyone wanted to see the world’s biggest fish. I was anxious myself.
We entered the back of the line as soon as we arrived. The line seemed like it was a mile long. Dad said that the reason he decided to leave so late in the evening was because he knew that the lines would be long.
“It’s cooled down some now,” he said. “It would have been miserable standing in line in the middle of the afternoon.”
I was anxious to see the big fish, but I was even more anxious to ride the Cage of Fear. The carnival closes at 10:00 and it was already almost seven.
“I wish this line would hurry up,” I complained.
“Me too," Autumn agreed.
As we approached the entrance to the building that everyone was gathered at, I didn’t see any sign of a big fish. The inside of the building looked like a restaurant. There were cooks, servers, and several tables to eat at. Many people were bringing their plate of fish, hushpuppies, and corn outside the building to eat at picnic tables.
“Dad, where’s the big fish?” I asked.
“Big fish?” he questioned.
“Yeah, the world’s biggest fish,” I answered. “Is it in the back of the building or something? Did they cut it up in small pieces for all these people to eat?” I asked.
“I don’t see how one fish can feed all these people,” Autumn added.
"The World’s Largest Fish Fry doesn’t mean the world’s largest fish,” Dad replied. It’s a festival the city has once a year. It started in the early 1900’s when farmers gathered to trade mules. They cook over 10,000 pounds of fish each year during the festival.”
“I don’t get to see the world’s biggest fish then?” I asked.
“Not unless somebody catches it soon,” Dad joked.
“Do you care if me and Autumn go ahead to the carnival?” I asked. I’ll just get a hamburger and funnel cake there.”
“You’ll be missing out on some good Kentucky Lake catfish,” he said.
“That’s ok,” I replied.
“Meet me by those picnic tables at 9:00,” he said. “I want to get a head start when we leave. It’s going to be a madhouse trying to get out of here.”
It was already 7:00. If we wanted to ride the Cage of Fear, we would have to hurry.
“Let’s go Autumn!” I yelled as we ran to the carnival.