Kentucky versis Ohio festivals

My girlfriend, JG and I went to the Goetta festival in Covington today, and the contrast between Dayton festivals and that festival couldn't have been sharper. We enjoy Dayton's festivals, but you can't take 3 steps without tripping over a cop in Dayton. You have to have your ID checked, wear a wrist band, and buy drink tickets to enjoy a beer at a Dayton Festival.

In Covington, the first beer stand we stumbled upon sold us a beer. For money. Without checking our IDs (I need a face lift). We wandered the open streets with open beer for hours and saw only 1 cop. On the advice of others, we wandered up and down main street outside the barricades with beers for half the time we were there. We're still not sure that was legal, but not 1 cop came by while we enjoyed the neighborhood. By the late afternoon, when we were leaving, we had seen 3 total. In Dayton, had we done the same thing, we would have been up against the wall 10 times surrounded by aggressive cops in the same time. It was unbelievable.

It was like the festivals when I grew up. No government oppression. People had a great time, were well behaved, and they didn't congregate like cattle in the streets. They actually moved and flowed in a way that facilitated movement. The prices of the crafts were unusually low for us. It was like a blast from the past, but with all the benefits of the present.

Ohio's police state mentality is so damaging to the state, the contrast was impressive. I'd forgotten what it was like to be that free. It's breathtaking. Our only concern was whether a cop would try to ruin our lives on the way home by arresting us for DUI.