In The Days of Kay

St. Louis Fair

The St. Louis Fair was Kay's first work experience in the field of entertainment and away from the paper boy days. He was signed on with a man, Don Abrams. The fair was in need of all the help they could supply so he was signed on as a part of the grounds and upkeep of the fair. There had been one hundred years since the Louisiana purchase and the celebration of the territory that was acquired. This purchase was at one time in the early years of the 1800s called "Missouri territory." Then the territory was split into states including naturally the state of Missouri.

This man Don kept things going and going in the architecture department and a lot of work was put in every day in the gardens and many artists from around the country and beyond had come forward to exhibit their talents. Their were performances who had come from god knows where; all over the planet.  Every day's work at the fair was a form of escapism from the life that Kay had to live in the turn of the century big city success. Life was a lot bigger in these days than it was for a man like Don; a man who was like a grandfather to him.

There were many affluent people who came to visit the fair and were willing to stare for hours. It was in his mind when he saw a lady who sat there just looking at a painting. And there she was just sitting there and staring into the picture, quirking her head and looking into the depths of the paint. Her mind and herself were sinking into the picture, getting every last things out of each droplet of paint.

The statues that soared above were inspired by the Roman culture and held a certain fascination to those who came to see them. There was a display of various different kinds of fishes in the aquarium part of the architectural building. And a whole culture of people from the Philippines lived in their own exhibit. It would seem unjust that these things happened in Kay's late years, but at the time this was a way of life for those people and a privilege for some to be seen by all people throughout the globe.

The exhibits were that aplenty and sense Kay was working there, he really got to see almost everything. All the lights that were put on display at night was a form of electricity that made the likes of which he had never seen before. He had always lived with at least a light bulb, though his family was mighty poor. It was a beautiful thing, to go throughout the place at night and see all the things that had happened. He had to wake up by six early every morning and be there until nine late in the night.

The summer Olympics were held in the United States for the first time in St. Louis; the key to the west. But Kay was busy, conserving all of his energy for the fair. Though, there here was still a chance for him to skip away when he was free to see what was going on. And he could sneak in and find a good spot cause he was working with the fair. The decathlon made its debut that year. He enjoyed that with a bag of cotton candy and watched the men jump high in the sky.

That was an amazing thing to see. How humans could have the ability to bounce so high and bend backwards with those sticks. That seemed such a gay old thing to hop on a stick and flint through the air like a lone noodle on

Kay was starting to come into some wealth. He made quite a lot of money working with Don, being there by his side, by not nearly as much as him. This man was affluent and rich. He had made his money after the civil war by going into the business of selling sheet music. Kay thought of how he wanted to be wealthy too. He had to do something for himself if he wanted to be like his parents who grew into the high society of St. Louis housing. Beautiful town houses on perfectly lined streets led by horse drawn carriages and  trimmed lawns.

His parents had decided upon taking a trip in an automatic car on a scenic trail. This was a grand experience for the time and something that was brand new. It was almost the end of the fair that winter and the streets were icy and cold. Kay remembered them as they got into the car, waved, and were off. They never made it back. It was a freak accident, something that never should have happened, and Kay didn't know what he was going to do with himself. Don knew though. Don said he was going to take him in with such seriousness when they were at the funeral home.

It was such an odd thing, being back at that place where Don was staying, and he was packing up his bags for the trip back to New York. You best go and pack your things, whatever you can take with you. And that's what Kay did do.