Julie Wilson Lang & Lit D March 4

DELIGHTFUL TO

DISASTEROUS
The circus was coming to town. The amazing Ringling Brothers came around very rarely, sometimes just every other year. Something about the aroma of a mixture of cotton candy and popcorn and the sun blazing down onto the sky-high tent drew people to the circus to watch the talented illusionists make their troubles flee their minds as they enjoy the show. It was just the day before the big opening and I had seen many other circus acts before this, but I assumed they were all just imitations of the Ringling Brothers who were the first circus to travel around the country by train. I was so energetic and filled with excitement that night that I couldnt keep still for more than 5 minutes while my mind was racing with thoughts about the circus. I ended up resorting to sleeping pills to finally get some sleep, which was the wrong decision. The sleeping pills had caused me to sleep until noon, which was a disaster because the circus was scheduled to begin at 1 and it would take me nearly an hour to get there. As I quickly brushed my teeth and got dressed I rushed out the door straight to my car while tripping over my untied shoelaces. I luckily hit no traffic which was very convenient in my situation. When I finally arrived, the crowds were already pouring through the open slit cut into the tent for the clump of madness that had just received their tickets from the vendor at the booth. I could hear the shouts of amazement that came from the fascinated people who had entered the tent and witnessed a circus arena for the first time. But I couldn't blame them, how could you not be amused? There were dozens of people and animals dressed in costumes as if they had stepped out of a movie, the mile-high tightrope that no one would even think of attempting walking across was taut and ready for action. As I scurried my way in at the end of the mob, I remember the big gust of air that hit me as I walked through that slit. I will never forget that gust of air that was a combination of smells from the concession stand, a mixture of perfumes and colognes from the surrounding people, and even the reek that emerged from the corner where the animals were stored. I easily placed that unpleasant stench out of my mind when I had realized I had just arrived at my first ever Ringling Brothers circus. It was surprisingly better than what I had dreamt of. As I frolicked through the night, enjoying act after act, I realized that the show was coming to an end. I was far more than disappointed when it was time to leave the arena, I couldn't bring myself to exit the tent. I was the last one to leave when the workers had to interrupt me gazing up at the props used in the acts. When I got home I went back to my boring, daily routine that consisted of making dinner, watching TV, showering, and sleeping. But my

routine was interrupted when I heard something strange on the news. They made an announcement that the Ringling Brothers train had some broken and misshapen parts that restricted it from moving. Due to them not being able to leave town, they had decided to perform another show just the next day for entertainment until they got their train fixed. At this point I knew that the lord had answered my prayers. I didn't even need to think about what I was going to do, stay home or go, because by the time I would have made the decision I had found myself already at the ticket booth anxiously waiting to get in, which was a big mistake. When I entered the tent it wasn't the same. There was no big gust of air, the concession stand was closed and there were far less animals than the night before. The workers seemed to be dreading performing that night and the audience seemed a lot less friendly. As I was sitting through the show I couldn't help but notice the annoying group of people that were seated in from of me. They were bickering so loud that I could barely focus on what was happening. When it came to the tightrope act I had noticed that the rope seemed more coarse and tattered then it did the night before. The people in front of me had noticed this too, and they didn't take it very well. They started to harass and insult the performer with ridiculous insults and actions. Their actions threw the performer out of whack. They continued to shout out to him as he made his way out onto the tightrope. After all their comments the performer became so nervous he was caught off balance and fell to the unprotected grassy ground from nearly 100 feet in the air. I heard the crowd gasp in one air as they had just witnessed the death of a circus performer. I was completely shocked, no words could come to mind when I tried to grasp the thought of what had just happened. Many people tried to rush out to help him in an instant but the workers managed to keep them all contained in the stands as they called the paramedics to carry away one of their beloved circus family. I was quivering in my shoes in the middle of a barbaric mob who seem to be far too interested in the fall. My eyes filled with tears that soon began to course down my cheeks in sadness and in fear. The people, unaware of their actions, had caused the animals to get all steamed up and parade around the tent unattended, which didn't help anyone at this point. Everyone seemed to forget about the beautiful entertaining performance this tent once held and began to act just as the animals, running around the arena panicking. I decided to step out of that disaster before any of it affected me. I ran to my car through the sea of people as fast as I could to rush home and escape the circus. The entire ride home I couldn't get the thought out of my head; why did this all happen? What caused one of the happiest experiences anyone could ever think of in their imagination to become the worst? Once I got home I eventually put the topic out of mind and returned to my routine. I may have put the thought out of my mind but it was hard to keep it out while watching the news. "Ringling Brothers" filled the screen along with pictures and videos of everything I had just left behind not even an hour ago. It seemed more like a nightmare than reality, but I knew that was too good to be true. The circus that I had fell in love with let me down and had come to an end. After that I have never attended another circus show, and I don't plan on attending one anytime soon.

I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this assignment

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