By Thomas Iacobucci
Jimmy Thompson stood leaning against his cane under the lights of one of the many booths that lined the narrow corridors at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
Clad in a bright orange collared shirt with a pencil behind his ear, Thompson was hardly noticeable, blending in with the copious amounts of stuffed animals hanging above and around him.
Beckoning to anyone that glanced in his direction, Thompson had the right amount of goofiness and authority to man a post at a fair booth. His close-cropped white hair could be seen from afar as he moved slowly in a circle around his small enclosure.
At times, his voice was all that could be heard, slicing through the screams emitting from rides elsewhere on the grounds. At other times, it got lost among the sounds of the fair, blending in, just like him.
“How much?” someone asked.
“Three dollars!” Thompson said, waving the patrons over to the booth where they could try their luck in the Whack-A-Wand game.
Thompson, 72, of Lumberton, North Carolina, has been working the traveling fair for 49 years. He joined when he was 15 and hasn’t looked back.
“Well, you get addicted to it,” Thompson said. “You get to travel all around.”
Sticking his tongue out at the lens of the camera, Thompson snickered and turned his back toward the hoard of people walking by, gesturing to anyone that might glance in his direction.
