The Greatest Show on Earth

Or..."The Not-So Greatest Show on Earth", in our opinion.

The last time I went to see the circus was in college, around 1996. At that time, I sat in one of the first few rows on the floor...great seats for all the 3-ringed action. There were high-wire acts, flying trapeze artists, lions and tigers that were actually kind-of scary. In addition, there were several trained Old English Sheepdogs, which, no offense to my 3 weimaraners, remain my "dream dog" (alas, to be fair, my dream dog doesn't shed, doesn't slobber, doesn't bark or whine and also mops my floors and does my laundry while I'm gone). All in all, there was a lot going on. It was, in fact, a three-ring circus. The old-fashioned kind, with all the stereotypical circus acts, contortionists, magicians and loads of healthy-looking, entertaining animals.

Bring us to 2010. The circus was in town a few weeks ago and we are just now blogging about it because, honestly, it wasn't worth rushing online for. I told Chip that I felt like this was the Circus of Misfits. Or that if you disobey Circus Rules, accidentally don't cut the lady in half, or fall off the tight rope, you have to go to the small cities, like pitiful little Knoxville, Tennessee. It was one ring, first of all. Right off the bat it made me angry. Whoever heard of a one-ring Barnum and Bailey circus?? And the so-called "tight-tope?" It was an x-shaped rope that was hovering a death-defying 4 feet off the ground. The tight-rope walkers were two young guys that had to do about 14 deep yoga breaths before even walking in a straight line. And you should know, it was a far from flawless routine with a few falls. The terrifying lions and their fearless trainer? More like bored and drugged lions and their weird trainer who looked like he had been into the same prescription sedatives they gave all the lions. They basically growled on que and chomped the air in the direction of the raw meat on the stick. By far the most exciting moment was when the guy on the motorcycle rode up a rope above the crowd with 2 girls swinging from the trapeze (alas, they didn't actually do any tricks). Honestly though, that was only the best part because we're good parents...the joy on Cooper's face when he saw that was priceless.

We spent $21 before the show started on a large scoop of snow cone in a "collector's cup."

Looks yummy doesn't it? She sure did enjoy it! That is, until she took a break, put it on the floor under her chair, then watched as a lady walking past us kicked it over with her foot! The lady didn't notice, Kendall cried, but was happy enough to get a $3 Sprite instead of another $10.50 snowcone!

In the background is the entrance to the one ring.
Kendall demanded to wear her orange and white tutu so she could "be like the dancer girls at the circus!" There were no dancer girls with tutus, but luckily she didn't seem to notice!

I ended up winning 2 tickets in an online Facebook contest, so for about $50 total (plus the snowcones and Sprite, of course), it wasn't too bad overall. The kids loved it because there was enough going on to keep their interest (I suppose jumping through a "ring" of "fire" is exciting to a 3 and 4 year old). I just don't know if I'll rush back next year!