The circus has always been a part of my heart and my childhood. Even though I’m an adult and “home” changes with moves and relocations, growing up in the shadow of the Ringling brothers’ wintering grounds made the glory of the circus more real to me than if I had merely read about it in a history book. I remember riding the elephants, I remember the endless circles ridden on the merry-go-round, the pumping cadence of the calliope, the roar of the tigers, and the sight of elephants in the river bathing.
Running around the circus ring, under the Big Top, as a circus clown is a feat I’ll never forget. The stone-etched elephants carved into old walls around town. Circus murals painted and faded on old buildings. The theater, the circus wagons, the red and gold and purple and silver. Royal colors. A celebration.
But the circus also has a darker side to it. One of mockery, of judgment, the diminishing of humanity, and in some circumstances the actual abuse of man and beast. It only proves that while beauty can be tainted by the prowess of a wicked nature, it can still be a glimpse into the talent and magnificence of God and His creation.
In the end, I think the circus discovered something too many of us turned into a sideshow. What some mocked, some embraced, what some saw as entertainment, some made a family. The people, the animals, the aura that is the circus . . . it’s beautiful. It is our history. It should always be preserved.
For more information, visit: https://www.circusworldbaraboo.org/.