Circus

Today I have been to the circus for the second time this year. After I had successfully avoided it for the last 30+ years. Well, I guess I must have been to the circus at one point in my life before, but if so I have eradicated all not-so-fond memory of the event. But now I am a mother and all resistance is useless.

Both times I have been to smaller circus-companies, not the big deals that would ever make it into TV, but rather smallish family-run shows.

As I was not a circus-doer before now, I was surprised about the dirt involved. And that was as a member of the audience. Working at the circus can not be a white collar job - surprise, surprise.

Both shows featured young voluptuous women with too much bad make-up and bad taste in clothing. The people sitting front row must have had ample opportunity to look up the uterus during the gymnastics. I fear for the minds of the children in the audience whose dreams might be haunted from this scarring experience.

Both shows also featured very well shaped men of striking physique and with inspiring skin-tight trousers. Ha! I know: Pretty much the exact thing that I was complaining about on the women - I must be hetero after all!

Today's circus show showed the act of a child. She was 13 years old and the only person at today's circus show who did something that looked dangerous. It was gymnastics in the air thingy - her doing bending here and there some meters above ground. She was definitely one of the better artists today. Even so, I was pissed off. A child doing the most dangerous act. She was dressed in something that would have made my grandmother blush (not my mother - you have to go a lot further to make HER blush). She was not wearing any support. There was no net. Provided, it was just 3 or 4 meters above ground. Provided she was good, she seemed sure of what she was doing. Still - there is always risk. And being a child she can not fully understand what it is she is risking there. Her health, a thing chronically underestimated by 13-year-old girls. Her life even - if she is unlucky. And none of the other (grown-up) artists seemed willing to take any such risk. But they let a child go up there and do it. Hmmph!



The worst acts however - and in both shows - were the clowns. It's not because I dislike clowns, but I do think them kind of scary. And I do believe that the majority of clowns out there are not funny. My daughter liked the clown today. I asked her what it was she liked. She looked at me as if I asked her how many legs she has. "Well, they are clowns!!!" When this revelation failed to clear matters to her ignorant mother, she went into a detailed analysis: "He wears the clown-costume and the nose. It's funny." I wish life was that simple for me!