Shana Lebowitz/Business Insider
Don't mess with Texas.
- I'm a lifelong New Yorker who recently visited Texas and spent a day at the biggest state fair in the US.
- Butter sculpting was disappointing, but the dog show was thrilling.
- Instead of partaking in turkey legs and cotton candy tacos, I ate pizza.
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I did not last long at the pig races.
The siren blared; the stadium erupted; perhaps 20 tiny pink creatures tumbled out of cages and onto a dirt arena, where they toddled forward in packs like so many porcine commuters at rush hour.
It was at this point that I stood up and began shuffling my way toward the exit, taking care not to step on any stuffed cowboys or knock the cotton candy out of unsuspecting children's hands.
Watching the races had left me feeling some vague combination of nausea and outrage. I worried that if I stayed any longer, I'd be tempted to scoop up the pigs myself and set them free, a course of action that would almost assuredly lead to an encounter with the authorities.
Outside the stadium, I struggled to breathe deeply - had I been the racing pig, after all? - and squinted at a paper map of the State Fair of Texas.