Pragmatist
Pragmatist

I.   WENT.    TO.   THE.    CIRCUS!!!!!

Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey is in town.  Lynn bought me a ticket  She had planned the circus as a mother-daughter thing with her and Nicole. Caitlin was to stay with me. Some how or other I happened to mention that I LOVE the circus. And it seems that Caitlin kinda-sorta wanted to go, too.

So bless her heart, she bought two more tickets. We weren't able to sit together, but that was OK. The arrangement still made it a mother-daughter thing with Nicole. I thought we were going to be sitting up in the attic, as the way Lynn said it, I thought she was implying way high up.  But up a few rows from where Lynn and Nicole were sitting still put us in Row B. Lynn and Nicole were sitting in the Reserved Section, on the floor. Row B was just a couple steps up.  Plenty close.

There was a bit of everything. Tigers. Contortionists. Jugglers. Elephants. Trapeze Daredevils. Horses and Horses and Riders. Ponies.  Dogs That Caught Frisbees. Strong Men. Goats That Rode Miniature Horses. Not to mention the Chief Clown who sounded an awfully lot like Jerry Lewis. Some of his shtick was familiar, too.

Thing that got my heart up in my throat and nearly caused me to stop breathing was OH MY! Motorcycles Racing In A Cage. Started out with four, and ended with SEVEN! motorcycles in the cage, some racing around the circumference while the others were racing just as fast along the latitude. How do they not crash?! How do they get up enough speed with a couple VROOM VROOMs to start circling that cage?

I've seen them on television, but right up close is entirely something else!

I came to my attention how heavy that cage is when I saw how many men it took to push it to the side. Well of course, dummy, it had to be heavily constructed to take all that weight and power.

In front of the Arena was a group of people passing out flyers about how performing animals are mistreated. They used to be, but I don't think so much any more. Especially with this rig. So I was watching for signs of mistreatment. I thought the Asian elephants looked a little tacky, but the rest of the animals looked great. The horses were sleek and shiny. Coats, manes and tails were the picture of equine health. The tigers looked healthy and well-fed. I think a couple of them might be on the elderly side, but they still had plenty of snarl in them.

The goats riding the ponies looked healthy.

I do have some reservations about performing elephants. Somehow it seems a bit undignified to ask those big guys to get up on small stools, and especially to lie down. One of them appeared to have a hard time getting up.

The tigers are something else. If you can get a cat -- a cat of any size -- to do your bidding, it's only because the cat wants to. There's something in it for him.

And then there were the hawkers. Cotton candy. Popcorn. Some kind of Icey-type drink. And the booths along the hallway selling everything. At much inflated prices, I'm sure. Lynn and the girls went out at intermission and got food and drink, but I didn't need anything. So I talked with my neighbors, and we enjoyed recapping the show. The first half of the show.

The second half was even more dazzling than the first. Four rings going at one time. Too much to watch. But I tried.

Ah, what a day this Friday was.  What a day!!

I went to the circus today.

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