THE CIRCUS WON’T BE COMING TO TOWN ANYMORE…
(…’cause IPads and IPhones are cheaper and more convenient, don’t y’know)

Ringling’s – Greatest Show on Earth – is folding its tents for good.

Like other forms of our entertainment culture…minstrel shows, vaudeville, radio shows, etc., after almost a century and a half of bringing live exotic entertainment to our cities and towns across the country, the circus won’t be coming to town anymore…’cause IPads and IPhones are cheaper and more convenient.

Yet, a circus was always more than just an ensemble of exotic performing animals and death-defying human acrobatics. It was a grand package deal which included a carnival like side-show promenade with a variety of challenges to test one’s skills in return for silly prizes, assorted booths offering views of strange beings and things, along with all sorts of treat offerings…fluffy spun sugar cones, candied apples, even hotdogs…all…wrapped up in the glow of brightly colored lights, buntings, blaring music, and happy crowds.

In some respects that side-show aspect of the circus had an even a greater attraction than the three-ring spectacles under the Big Top itself…of those wild and zany clowns, elegantly prancing horses baring glittering graceful ballerinas on their backs, parading trumpeting pachyderms, and the chills and thrills of watching macho animal tamers doing their thing, alone with only a chair and a whip, to make a cage full of roaring lions and snarling tigers perform on cue.

Actually the reasons for its demise are more complex than just the advent of IPads and IPhones. The fact is that the concept of the – circus – simply slowly faded away, egged on by the anti-circus zealotry of folks like PETA. Thus, with shrinking audiences paying to come see its shows, the harsh economic realities of the logistics costs to haul a mass of gear, animals, and performers, from place to place, made its ending inevitable.

Some elements of our entertainment culture lasted longer than others. The fact that –
The Greatest Show on Earth – managed to do so is a testament to the quality Ringling gave to this most ancient form of entertainment, to bring brief moments of excitement and sparkle into the otherwise humdrum routines of people’s daily lives all over our country.

Well, that’s as the world turns, as they say…and most things do change and fade away…but like those old ice-cream trucks with their tinkling bells, cruising neighborhoods on a hot summer’s day…this one will surely be missed.

CENTURION