in answer to your question: "Has anyone ever been to the circus, actually?"
i have been to cirque du soleil, does that count?
AND ALSO
when i was a child, i was at something that must have been circus-like because there was a clown who came up to me and asked if i wanted to help him during the show and i said yes and so he told me he'd call on me when he asked for volunteers and then that's what happened and he spun pie plates on a stick or maybe his finger or both and then i believe he handed me the stick so if you showed late to the circus right then, it would have looked like i myself and i alone was spinning a plate.
the circus!
love
myq
PS relatedly (kind of), at my 7th birthday or so, i had a party at a bowling alley and my grandfather got video of me knocking down all the pins so it looked like i got a strike. however, he did not get the video of me knocking down zero pins moments earlier, making that frame a spare.
I have been to a circus! In fact, that is where I met my first and oldest friend when we were four. Every kid in our small town who went to that circus 46 years ago remembers it, as it was the circus where the clown died. I don’t have a lot of clear memories from that age, but that is one of them: a clown juggling a tea set collapsed, and an ambulance (with antlers on it!!) came blaring out and whisked him away.
thinking back, it turns out i have been to see several circus performances. when i was a young child i went to see the barnum & bailey circus nonsense with the animal acts (this definitely dates me as they don’t do that kind of thing anymore, haven’t for a long time). i saw a few cirque de soleil shows as a young adult. and now as i parent i have taken my child to circus vargus twice. thankfully no more sad animals in circuses, just incredible feats of human animals who hopefully are paid well and enjoying themselves. my kiddo can’t get enough and wants to go every time they come to town.
I went to the circus once when I was super little (3 years old) and I got to ride an elephant! I don’t have a distinct memory of the ride but my parents do. (Also I can’t ever know this but I get a little sad wondering how that elephant was treated. Not to be a downer but ugh!)
I have never ridden/been on a horse so sometimes if one of those inane “two truths and a lie” or “what’s an interesting thing about you?” icebreaker comes up I’ll throw in that I’ve ridden an elephant but not a horse.
New subscriber here and loving you and this community so very much. I have been to a circus as a child but honestly have repressed a lot of those memories due to how the animals were treated. But I do remember a lot of the daring acts like the trapeze artists and high wire walkers which made my 10 year old stomach jump into knots at “what could happen”. A favorite movie of mine is “Something Wicked This Way Comes”. Not the best movie in the world but there is something very apocalyptic in how it portrays the uncomfortable magical brought by bright lights and lewd colors piercing a dark night. Thanks again for all the wonderful thoughts shared here.
i have also been to a circus BUT my favorite complicated circus memory is from the early 2010's (likely 2009?) when i used to bike between my apartment in pilsen to my friends in Wicker Park to scrabble over the old bloomingdale traintracks and one day on our way back we saw the circus elephants waiting outside the United Center! i had to stop and stare and it was really neat, although in my head i am v much hoping they were OK.
I have been to a circus! I grew up in South America, and we went to a few circuses, usually very small ones. (They were what I imagine the circuses in old-fashioned children's books to be).
Anyway, a particularly memorable one that we went to while on vacation in Brazil had one man who went from ringmaster to clown to snack vendor in the span of about 10 minutes, maybe one elephant, some naughty monkeys, a trained donkey, and probably a few macaws, which were easy to get and showy. And extremely scantily clad dancers who came out to do the Samba, which was embarrassing because I was there with my parents, who certainly had never encountered near-nudity or sexy dancing.
Maybe animal support groups rightly have down played the necessity to go to circuses. When I was young circuses were big. And even then I felt sorry for all the animals. But I loved the human trapeze artists. Maybe that's how the Circ d'Soleil and others got big. Exploit humans not nonhumans, because they have the ability to make their own choices? Whatever, Happy Spring, and daffies.
I have never done a spring break thing. But I did teach my two kids (4 and 6) to shout, “WOO SPRANG BREEEEAK” as though we are on mtv. They don’t have the cultural association so it’s even more fun to shout it.
dear sophie,
thank you for another banger!
in answer to your question: "Has anyone ever been to the circus, actually?"
i have been to cirque du soleil, does that count?
AND ALSO
when i was a child, i was at something that must have been circus-like because there was a clown who came up to me and asked if i wanted to help him during the show and i said yes and so he told me he'd call on me when he asked for volunteers and then that's what happened and he spun pie plates on a stick or maybe his finger or both and then i believe he handed me the stick so if you showed late to the circus right then, it would have looked like i myself and i alone was spinning a plate.
the circus!
love
myq
PS relatedly (kind of), at my 7th birthday or so, i had a party at a bowling alley and my grandfather got video of me knocking down all the pins so it looked like i got a strike. however, he did not get the video of me knocking down zero pins moments earlier, making that frame a spare.
I have been to a circus! In fact, that is where I met my first and oldest friend when we were four. Every kid in our small town who went to that circus 46 years ago remembers it, as it was the circus where the clown died. I don’t have a lot of clear memories from that age, but that is one of them: a clown juggling a tea set collapsed, and an ambulance (with antlers on it!!) came blaring out and whisked him away.
So strange.
xRachel
thinking back, it turns out i have been to see several circus performances. when i was a young child i went to see the barnum & bailey circus nonsense with the animal acts (this definitely dates me as they don’t do that kind of thing anymore, haven’t for a long time). i saw a few cirque de soleil shows as a young adult. and now as i parent i have taken my child to circus vargus twice. thankfully no more sad animals in circuses, just incredible feats of human animals who hopefully are paid well and enjoying themselves. my kiddo can’t get enough and wants to go every time they come to town.
I went to the circus once when I was super little (3 years old) and I got to ride an elephant! I don’t have a distinct memory of the ride but my parents do. (Also I can’t ever know this but I get a little sad wondering how that elephant was treated. Not to be a downer but ugh!)
I have never ridden/been on a horse so sometimes if one of those inane “two truths and a lie” or “what’s an interesting thing about you?” icebreaker comes up I’ll throw in that I’ve ridden an elephant but not a horse.
New subscriber here and loving you and this community so very much. I have been to a circus as a child but honestly have repressed a lot of those memories due to how the animals were treated. But I do remember a lot of the daring acts like the trapeze artists and high wire walkers which made my 10 year old stomach jump into knots at “what could happen”. A favorite movie of mine is “Something Wicked This Way Comes”. Not the best movie in the world but there is something very apocalyptic in how it portrays the uncomfortable magical brought by bright lights and lewd colors piercing a dark night. Thanks again for all the wonderful thoughts shared here.
i have also been to a circus BUT my favorite complicated circus memory is from the early 2010's (likely 2009?) when i used to bike between my apartment in pilsen to my friends in Wicker Park to scrabble over the old bloomingdale traintracks and one day on our way back we saw the circus elephants waiting outside the United Center! i had to stop and stare and it was really neat, although in my head i am v much hoping they were OK.
I have been to a circus! I grew up in South America, and we went to a few circuses, usually very small ones. (They were what I imagine the circuses in old-fashioned children's books to be).
Anyway, a particularly memorable one that we went to while on vacation in Brazil had one man who went from ringmaster to clown to snack vendor in the span of about 10 minutes, maybe one elephant, some naughty monkeys, a trained donkey, and probably a few macaws, which were easy to get and showy. And extremely scantily clad dancers who came out to do the Samba, which was embarrassing because I was there with my parents, who certainly had never encountered near-nudity or sexy dancing.
Spring is Here!!! Nothing like the seasons to be reminded to keep on going. Thanks Sophie.
Maybe animal support groups rightly have down played the necessity to go to circuses. When I was young circuses were big. And even then I felt sorry for all the animals. But I loved the human trapeze artists. Maybe that's how the Circ d'Soleil and others got big. Exploit humans not nonhumans, because they have the ability to make their own choices? Whatever, Happy Spring, and daffies.
I have never done a spring break thing. But I did teach my two kids (4 and 6) to shout, “WOO SPRANG BREEEEAK” as though we are on mtv. They don’t have the cultural association so it’s even more fun to shout it.