Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Gold, Silver, Bronze, & Butter


I had the dubious honor of attending the Iowa State Fair this weekend. Now, I am not what you’d call a “State Fair person.” I’m not a big fan of Fair food (Deep-fried Oreos? Seriously?) and I’m not terribly interested in over-fed, over-grown cows, pigs, or pumpkins. Nothing wrong with any of that stuff, but it’s just really not my bag.

Why go, then? You might ask. My niece had a tumbling meet at the Fair this weekend. She won second place. Yea! And then, later that same day, she had a gymnastics competition and she won third place. Yea!

Another central Iowa girl did exceedingly well in gymnastics this week. Shawn Johnson is the toast of Iowa these days. Her 1.21 Gigawatt smile packs almost as much punch as her powerful floor routine. The infectious smile flashes across the screen in every other commercial on the Iowa networks, hocking everything from groceries to commemorative jewelry.

She won team Silver in the Olympics, followed by individual Silvers in the all-around and floor, and, in her crowning achievement: a Gold yesterday on the beam.

Yea, Shawn! (I was totally bawling last night as I watched her take the podium!)

And, in typical Iowa fashion, Shawn has been lauded in a truly unique manner: she’s been cast in butter. Every year at the Fair, there is the requisite “Butter Cow” – a life-sized bovine carved out of butter. And every year there is also a “special” butter sculpture. Last year it was the “Butter Harry Potter” in tribute to Book 7. This year there was a “Butter Shawn Johnson”

I think I will consider that I’ve truly “arrived” only when I’ve been replicated in butter at the Iowa State Fair.

Congratulations, Shawn!

Congratulations, Little Miss Thing!!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Shawn Johnson was amazing--congratulations to her, and that butter statue of her is great.
--Been there

Anonymous said...

Who wasn't crying? You could just tell that she was doing everything in her power not to cry on the podium. She was swallowing hard, blinking -- that poor girl. She should have just cried and let it out.

She was absolutely great.

Terri