MC

The Master of Ceremonies - that awakens me daily to steer my page into "type".

Type that must be managed .
and displayed - as type

Insists.
I keep going .
Insists I keep learning.That it is me or the MC.

1923-Once we got to the fair my mother  had to do something they called sterilization .my dad sat at the picnic table with me and told me not to walk around but stay still if I could ,he was smoking a lot of cigarettes and his eyes seemed funny but he smiled anyway .The fair was colorful and noisy and had games and you smelled food everywhere. And everywhere there were contests.

My father was to be at a certain tent at precisely 2pm

he kept looking at his watch...

like he either wished time would speed up or slow down..

I didn't care that much about staying still and not walking around the booths

I was to stay at the fair for a week..

 a man who was handing out fliers to the fair last week had measured the slope of my head and distance between my eyes

and I was invited to be "in the fair"..as an example.

Me and my dad went to the Men's Tent  so my dad could have x-rays ...

I wanted to go outside the tent  but my father wanted me to see what was happening..

.

I stayed in the tent and watched

 but I couldn't see any "ray"

my dad had to sit on a wooden chair in front of the x ray machine for 20 minutes

in his underwear

Even at home  I didn't see my father in just his underwear ..he always wore a robe when he wasn't fully dressed .

"Finished. "the man behind the x ray machine said  and my dad was aloud to get dressed.
when we were leaving the tent my dad said "I wanted you to stay so "You will know . People must know," he said hugging me.

we go to meet my mom at the same picnic  we were at before.

MY mom has been crying but she hides the  tissue that was at her eyes  when she sees us coming and says "Here are my boys..Here are my boys," putting out her arms wide

..when I ask her if she also got x rays  like Dad, my father quickly puts his finger to his lips to keep me from saying it
My mother seems tired and she keeps curling her finger around her hair.My dad begins acting extra happy and says'"c'mon,c'mon this IS a fair isn't it..let's have some pie"

I cannot help but wonder if I will get pie every day for the next week for agreeing to be an example..

I never slept in a tent before either.

 So as sad as my parents were acting I had to hide the fact that I was kind of excited about the coming week and possibly eating pies every night and day.

                                                 (2)

At first my mother said "NO.she would not allow her son to have any part of this .This Fair."

my father got very angry ..
he had been angry all week since hearing about the forced sterilizations and said,"Let the boy see...Let the boy know "
                                      (3)
The fair was filled with rides and cakes and games.There was even one of those games where a man could show how strong he was by hitting a ball with a big hammer that could measure how strong the person was with numbers and a big bell on top that hardly anyone reached.

besides that game there were also a lot of trophies for all kinds of things

like what girl had the most beautiful form...and what man had the broadest chest...
or even best kind of face.

They used something called calipers that could measure how wide apart your eyes were  and how long or thick your nose or chin was.

My measured distance between my eyes and the measure of the slope of my forehead were the reason the man who organized the fair chose me to be in the fair all the next coming week.

I know I wasn't chosen because my postings and entries written in chalk and paint  on the big wall were goodbut wrong -

 "The Great Scale" measured a person in terms how their Type would fit or not fit with and for  The Greater Good.They called this new science Eugenics.

The man that measured the slope of my forehead and the set of my eyes and how wide my nose was said having people who were wrong would be a good way for people to see the difference between traits of Right and Wrong .There were contests in sports and physique and grace that also measured the qualities of the Best People in the community

he explained that  the wall needed to demonstrate opposing traits to the audience to  make comparisons easier. He told me the new world would be about separating the herd.
                                     (4)

After my parents left I was told to go into a red tent with the others who would be examples of "wrong type".

It was me and two other boys.One boy who had  a harelip and the younger boy had a foot that was turned inward. Also  one very tall girl who wore glasses and was very thin.I didn't know what was wrong with her  and wished I had some calipers so I could tell ..

 

After dinner with no pie all four of us were asked to stand on a raised small stage opposite another small raised stage where other boys and girls wearing medals stood.

The man who arranged the Fair had offered to pay my father 20 dollars for me being in the show.My father said no...I don't want your money..my son will be proud to be an example of something ...but it will not be an example of what you think it is...

The night before ,at dinner My Dad hugged me real hard and patted my hair ..."One day he said you will write of this .So one day people will be forced to remember what was happening  and what might happen again..."