I recall seeing advertisements for the Barnum & Bailey Circus, "the Greatest Show on Earth," when I was a kid, but I never got to see it myself until I was an adult and took our daughters to see it. Several photos I stumbled across reminded me of the thrill I saw in their eyes as they watched, mesmerized and sitting on the edges of their seats on the second level at Knoxville's Civic Coliseum.
We were all caught up in the thrill as we watched the elephants make their grand entrance onto the floor below and paraded around the arena. The circus that year featured "King Tusk," allegedly a grand old behemoth with great tusks. (We later discovered that the otherwise normal-sized tusks were augmented by prostheses that were slipped over the real ones to make them look longer.)
The beasts performed their tricks, moving as though in slow motion. They exemplified great power under control. Sadly, elephants are no longer a part of their circus. I think the show died the day they discontinued their appearance.
Then all the white horses entered all three rings at the same time. We hardly knew where to focus our attention, and it was impossible to watch all three rings at once--and trapeze artists on the highwires, too. The experience made real to me the meaning of the simile "as busy as a three-ring circus."
And then there were the clowns. I need say no more. Their antics and foibles brought out the kid in even the oldest adults present.
We thrilled to watch in the center ring the lions and tigers perform at the commands and whip lashes of the trainer but not without their uttering fearsome growls of complaint. We also attended the circus again years later when the focus was on the final tour of Gunther Gabel Williams, the famed lion tamer.
Our attendance at the circus provided the foundation we needed for our visit years later to the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. The presence of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art at Ca' d'Zan next door seemed a bit out of place, but viewing its art treasures was a priceless experience.
Touring the museum brought back memories of the times we had attended the circus, but there's nothing like actually being there and experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells firsthand.
I wish they still had the elephants, though!
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