Nostalgia: The Warren County, Tennessee A & L Fair

Although they may not be so obvious, there are hundreds of faces here.

The Warren County A & L Fair in McMinnville, Tennessee makes its appearance only once a year; arriving in wee morning hours on the Sunday before the second Monday of the month of September.

As a child, I waited in anticipation as August came to an end and Labor day came to officially whisk summer away - even if it didn't immediately take the humid Southern summers.

The week of the fair was - still is - like our town's own personal holiday.

It is a week where old friends reconnect, old flames are revived (sometimes much to the despair of spouses and significant others), babies are put on display in the name of pageantry, a beauty queen is crowned; and the smell of grilled hamburgers, homemade apple pie, and cotton candy lures the most antisocial of society.

While the thrill of the county fair may have lost its flair for me over the years, I now see the anticipation in my own children's eyes.

A look that keeps me returning year after year after year...