When the carnival was in town it was a treat for all and sundry.
Most of the locals had some part to play in the carnivals success.
Kelly Vandersmith was the balloon lady.
It took her all year to source the balloons for the next year. She was passionate about balloons. No balloon was too small and none were considered too big though Archie Jarrison’s suggestion of a floating real life size dirigible was a little excessive in most people’s eyes.
It was a common sight to see Kelly walking the aisles of the carnival holding out her always-impressive array of balloons and selling them as one would hot cakes. The thing was she only bought so many and once sold out there were no more. So from the moment of her arrival on the fair grounds her balloons were eagerly sought.
A lot of folk suggested she buy more each year but Kelly staunchly stuck to her quote and her mantra: First in best dressed.
Written for: https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/fffaw-week-of-08-18-2015/
Morpethroad 
Great story, and I liked her mantra. You put a smile on my face, thanks
My pleasure Huma, thanks for stopping by…
A lovely story. You conjure up the scene so well.
Thanks so much tj.
that’s great mantra
Thank you so much. Have a good day.
Lovely story of Kelly the balloon lady! I like that she stood her ground on the amount of balloons she sold and her mantra of, “First in best dressed.” Very nice! Thank you Michael for participating in FFfAW challenge!
Thanks Joy, my pleasure as always. I think Kelly’s idea was to sell out and then go enjoy the carnival…
Nice story. I like the mantra.
Thank you Graham, have a good day.
Aww, it shows she has so much passion in what she does. What a lovely story. 🙂
Thank you so much Ameena, I appreciate your lovely comment.
First in best dressed: great mantra indeed! You conjure up a great character, enjoyed reading it!
One can definitely tell Kelly enjoys what she practices. These days, that is a rarity. Very well told story!
Thanks Francesca, so glad you enjoyed my tale.
I’m glad Kelly doesn’t listen to the others and sticks to her mantra! You can tell she does it out of love not for the money. 🙂 Personally, I think a life size floating dirigible would be the perfect balloon! A great story, Michael.
Great story! Kelly loves what she is doing and takes great pride in it. She has success each year…why change things …I like the saying “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” ….she is satisfied with the success she was having and there’s nothing wrong with keeping things the same if they are working for you and you are happy.
Thanks for your comment, pleasure having you stop by.
I now have visions of a great big airship floating over the fair! Perhaps it was a wise choice to decline Archie’s suggestion. I really like the way you’ve portrayed the balloon seller as a strong-minded woman, passionate about her role at the fair. Your story was a pleasure to read.
Thank you Millie, I value your comment.
This reminds me of how you can never satisfy everyone; even if she bought more balloons, there will still be those who don’t get one. I’m glad she continuously fuels her passion and stands her ground.
Thanks Izzy, that’s a good point to make.