Mary Connor was one of the younger candidates for governor that the state had ever had. At 35, she had accomplished much in her life, mostly due to her privileged upbringing. Coming from old money, she attended the finest schools obtaining her law degree in record time. Strangely, she became interested in politics in her 20's and within a few years decided to run for office.

Mary quickly became known as an up-and-coming political figure despite being a bit uptight around most people. She also had a sense of style that was her calling card. Always impeccably dressed and never a hair of her long brown hair out of place. Her Instagram page was followed by thousands for her fashion tips where many commented on her likeness to Kate Middleton.

Mary was none too pleased with her campaign manager double-booking her on this Saturday. She had planned on the fundraiser at the yacht club in the afternoon but the blue-ribbon presentation at the 4-H Club was not on her radar when she woke up that day. Only learning about it as she was leaving the house, she had no choice but to make her appearance at the County Fair before heading down to the docks. A coastal girl at heart, the county fair was not her cup of tea and her attire said as much. Mary had selected a blue and white, light nautical sweater, white linen capris and her brand-new pair of white Channel espadrilles. The espadrilles alone were over $800.00.

As her driver made their way into the country for this unplanned event, she spent most of the drive yelling at her campaign manager on the phone about the scheduling mix-up. She was going to need to get in and out of the fair quickly to make it back to the yacht club. The campaign manager apologized but assured her that it will be worth her time as the local media will be there and the more exposure she gets, the better.

As they pulled into the fairground entrance, Mary touched up her makeup and adjusted her white hair band. She instructed her driver to leave her off near the entrance and that she would be back out shortly. Upon exiting the rear of her Mercedes, she took in her surroundings including all the interesting smells. While she needed every vote she could get, she knew these weren't "her people." Everyone was dressed in jeans, t-shirts and boots. "Well at least I stand out," she thought.

The main walkway was paved, and she was sure to keep her distance from the locals as she didn't want anyone bumping into her and sullying her linen capris. She briskly walked down the midway partly in disgust that she had to be there but also convinced that she was the most attractive woman there.

The arrow pointed to the 4-H booth which cut through the concession stand area. She stopped abruptly as she turned noticing that this area was not paved but rather chewed up, muddy grass from the recent rains. No way she was walking through this mess, not even in hip waders. She then spied some wooden planks going down the right side that she could use. Carefully easing up to the first board, she daintily extended her right foot onto the board as it settled into the mud making a squishing sound. "Gross!" she thought as she took the next step. Sure enough, the boards kept her precious shoes out of the mud, and she gained confidence as she did her tight rope act the 30 feet or so down the path. At the last board, she gracefully hopped back onto the sidewalk completely unblemished.

At the 4-H booth, Mary noticed the smells were more pronounced. She reminded herself to put her best face forward, say a few kind words and get out quickly. The presentation of the blue ribbon was going to be simple enough and was comforted when she saw two television stations and a newspaper reporter present. At least this would get her some publicity.

The presentation was on a small platform just outside the pavilion. The young man who won first prize arrived in his finest cowboy attire and the mayor made his way in as well. There were steps leading onto the platform and on the opposite side the animals were led in for display. A nearby leaking air conditioning unit created quite the mud pit for the animals to walk through. She sized up the quagmire as she was waiting but thought, "hey, they're animals, they can be muddy."

When it was time for the blue-ribbon presentation, Mary addressed the people saying how proud she was of this young man and his award-winning hog. (Not a word was true....simply in politician mode.) She stepped out from behind the podium so that they could get some full-length pictures of her. A reported suggested that she get her picture taken while petting the hog which was on the side of the platform. She graciously complied while cursing the reporter out in her head. Mary made her way to the edge of the platform and bent down to pat the hog on the back all the while with a big smile on her face soaking in the attention.

Mary had not noticed that she had stepped on the strap for the hog that was laying on the platform. As she stroked his back, he got spooked and bolted in the opposite direction. In doing so, the strap went with him causing her left foot to be pulled forward. For a moment, she teetered back and forth with one foot hanging precariously over the mud several inches below. Her smile had instantly turned to concern as she tried to regain her balance. She managed to get her foot back down on the edge of the platform but her lean was too great. She screamed as she tumbled down into the mud. Her pristine, designer espadrilles were the first to make contact with the mud as she fell forward. First the right followed by the left espadrille immediately came off her feet upon entering the sticky mess. Mary completed her fall by landing face down in the muddy slop. He momentum was so strong that her hair flew forward partially dislodging her white hair band which pushed her long, muddy hair into her face.

Laying in the mud, Mary was never so humiliated. Her light sweater soaked in the water making it three times the weight. Her linen pants were nearly see-through but for the mud. And her prized Channel espadrilles which seconds ago were immaculate and by far the most expensive shoes at the entire fair were buried in the mud. She thrashed in the slick mud in attempt to get to her feet but to no avail. Eventually she got turned around and fished both shoes out of the mud, one in each hand. Mary knelt in total defeat covered in mud from face to toe, her mouth agape with each hand holding what used to be white canvas espadrilles, now just muddy blobs.

Mary struggled to her feet pulling herself up using the platform all the while refusing help from those nearby. She pushed her hair out of her face only to get more mud on her face in the process. She needed to get out of this god-forsaken place immediately. Not wanting to walk on the hot pavement in bare feet, she sat on the step to the platform and turned both of her espadrilles upside down and grimaced as the muddy slop flowed out. The white canvas now entirely brown and the Channel logo unrecognizable. She winced as she forced her feet back into them to make the trek back to her awaiting car. Arms extended out from her sides she tried to make a dignified exit but that was impossible. She shuffled out of the 4-H pavilion and made her way out. As she walked down the midway, everyone starred at her and her muddy state. Her espadrilles made a squishing noise with every step and her linen pants were a sodden mess. By the time she got to her car, she was trending on social media with a full complement of "before" and "after" pictures. There was even a video of her fall from grace with her wobbling on the edge and falling in on a never-ending loop.