Housing foreclosures have hit record numbers. It can cost $100 to fill up an SUV. Even Fannie and Freddie might need an advance on their allowance from Uncle Sam.
Can the economic news get any worse?
Oh, yes. The faltering economy now is coming after something truly precious: the summer carnival. Across the country, carnivals have been canceled outright or their hours shortened as a result of the soaring cost of the fuel that powers the rides, heats the oil for the corn dogs and lights up all those midway attractions.
Lucky for us, though, the South Baltimore Little League Carnival opened last night on Fort Avenue, bringing a 110-foot Ferris wheel and the intoxicating scent of fried dough to the neighborhood as it has every summer for years and years. The tilt-a-whirl ride, the candy apple stand, the toss-a-ball, the win-a-goldfish game - they're all back for another summer, but at a price.
It'll cost a couple more bucks this year - a pass to ride the rides as often as you like all night costs $18 this year, compared to last year's $16 - and carnival organizers are hoping that won't put too much of a crimp on attendance.
"The economy is so bad now, I really think people are little bit more cost-conscious these days," said Linda Ruff, a longtime South Baltimore Little League booster. "I know I have friends who are saying they're still coming, but maybe they'll come one night instead of two or three nights this year."
In South Baltimore, you can set your calendar to the rhythm of the Little League. Spring? That starts in April, when the players gather at Federal Hill Park and parade through the neighborhood to mark their opening day. They play through mid-July, and then, before you know it, it's carnival time and summer is half over. Ruff is into her third generation with the Little League - growing up on Riverside Avenue, her brother played on one of the four original teams that comprised the league. Her kids played on South Baltimore Little League teams and now so do her grandchildren. She's seen the league grow from four teams of 10- and 11-year-olds to its current 18 teams of about 300 kids ages 4 to 18. She's watched it go coed and add T-ball and softball to its offerings.
Ruff thinks the league has hosted a carnival for about 30 years now; it's its major fundraiser by far, and the league goes all out, with different entertainment acts every night.
