Tony Dodero -- From the Newsroom

Man do I love this time of year.

I mean when else but during the Orange County Fair can you chow down a

hunk of deep fried potatoes with spicy cheese on top and catch a pig race

-- all during your lunch break?

I have to admit something here first. For the better part of my life,

I really had no interest in fairs. I think my mom and dad took me to the

L.A. County Fair when I was a wee tike, but that was about it.

For the last 11 years now, however, the Orange County Fair has become

a source of both amusement and curiosity to me. As a reporter and editor

for this newspaper, I’ve witnessed a few nostalgic fair moments.

There have been many, many good times, like covering the 100th

anniversary celebration, watching a herd of steer rumble down Costa

Mesa’s public streets and getting a front-row seat to see the Brian

Setzer Orchestra.

Of course there have been some bad times, like the horse that got

electrocuted, the carnie worker suspected of molesting two girls on the

house of mirrors ride, the lightning storm that shut down operations for

hours and the unfortunate ousting of the Pink Man, after it was learned

he had been accused in the past of indecent contact with children.

All in all, the fair is a fun time and so, like I have for the past 11

years, I kept with my annual ritual of popping by this annual hoedown to

see how things are.

I wasn’t too surprised.

The fair doesn’t change much. Sure, they have a new theme each year,

this year’s is a salute to citrus, and of course there is always a new

exhibit or a new ride -- The “I Love Lucy” exhibit is the current rave.

Still, you can count on all the old favorites like for example the

Belgian horse named Hercules who is 2,850 pounds and is 6-feet 4-inches

tall. Right next door to him is White Mountain, a gargantuan steer

weighing in at 3,450 pounds and 6-feet 8-inches tall, the equivalent of

10,000 hamburgers on the hoof.

Then there’s the pig races. The Alaskan Racing Pigs to be exact. The

pigs are always there each year but I hadn’t ever seen this event in

person so I joined about 300 or so spectators last week for the “pork

chop showdown.”

The races are a squeal with lots of goofy references to hogs such as

this little phrase “rain or swine the sow must go on” and the invitation

to take your “pigture” with one of the racers -- my favorite of whom was

Sow Capone.

They even have a Web site, o7 https://www.pigrace.comf7 , that has

chat rooms and bulletin boards and is supposed to have photos of pig race

crowds posted soon.

After the pig races, it’s time to go get a healthy meal. And when I

say healthy I don’t mean no garden burgers or something like that.

This is the fair, where folks wear overalls and sit on hay stacks for

rest while listening to the sweet strains of “Home on the Range.”

This is where a lady who looks like my grandma can walk by a row of

beef roasts turning on a barbecue spit and shout “Let’s grab one of those

suckers and run.”

So I got my “healthy” portions for lunch. A barbecue beef sandwich, an

order of Australian batter fried potatoes and a lemonade.

I must warn you here, this is no cheap meal. The aforementionedgrub

set me back $13.75.

But it tasted good and the good part is you really don’t need to eat

afterward for a couple days.

Still, if you don’t want to pay these prices, the people at the gate

assured me that families are welcome to bring a sack lunch, just no cans

or bottles.

Speaking of families, the fair really is a nice place for them,

especially during the week when crowds are much lighter. For young kids

there are petting zoos, elephant rides, arcades, face painting and

Kidland, a section of rides for the smaller set.

For adults there’s the House of Brews, the Footsie Wootsie foot

massage, psychics and a place where you can get your personality analyzed

with just your handwriting and much, much more.

Yes, I have to admit that the fair now allures me with its hometown,

corny charm.

And like many folks who visit, I always look forward to next year.

***

On a different note, I caught the live broadcast last Tuesday of the

El Toro debate on KCRW radio station 89.9 FM from the Barclay Theater at

UCI.

For the most part, I thought it was a good exchange and lots of good

information.

But the part that disturbed me, and I’m sure I’m not alone, was the

lack of decorum on the part of some in the audience -- on both sides of

the debate, mind you.

There were hisses and sarcastic laughter and shouts of “liar” and

other insults. While it’s probably not surprising that this heated battle

has deteriorated into a school yard shoving match, it is disappointing

nonetheless.

How can we expect our young people to act in a respectful and

courteous manner when they have examples of adults acting so foolishly?

Whatever happened to the idea that we can have honest disagreements in

opinion?

If the actions and comments of that crowd for the radio broadcast are

any indication of what the future beholds for the debate of this land,

then we all have a long road ahead.

* TONY DODERO is the editor. His column appears on Mondays. If you

have story ideas or concerns about news coverage please send messages

either via e-mail to tony.dodero@latimes.com or by phone at 949-574-4258.