The Circus is in Town

Caramel popcorn. Pink cotton candy. I can’t remember when I last tasted those kids’ favorites. I bite into the sickening sweet cotton candy and wonder what it is I’m putting into my system. My 4 year-old grandson sitting next to me shoves wads of cotton candy into his mouth with his fingers. His 10 year-old sister is intent on digging into the box of caramelized popcorn and then passes it to me. I pull out a handful. And then another handful.

We’re at the circus. The schools are on winter vacation and I’ve invited the two youngest of my four grandchildren to the circus. The Flying Farfans. Based on the advertisements, I have high hopes for this circus. My son says he remembers me taking him to the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Baily Circus at the Oakland Coliseum. “But they don’t exist anymore, do they?”

In the car on our way to the circus, the youngest asks, “Will there be clowns?”

“Oh, I’m sure there’ll be clowns,” I say, “But no elephants, lions or dogs like there used to be.”

“They were mean with the animals, so they’re not allowed in the circus anymore,” says his wise older sister.

We enter the large red and yellow striped tent and take our seats in the gallery section. The popcorn and cotton candy are about gone by the time the show begins. Music blares out from vibrating speakers just beside us. Dance routines. Juggling acts (they need more practice). Prancing clowns (not nearly as funny as I remember them). A young boy performs balancing acts. An elegantly- costumed woman walks about the center ring on top of a large ball. Impressive, as was the act of two young men striding inside two large metal rings that revolve in the air.

The grandkids watch wide-eyed the grand finale, the trapeze act. Their heads tilted high, they follow two acrobats soaring through the air from opposing swings, meeting midway and connecting with their hands. Several times one misses his connection and drops into the net. These must be the Flying Farfans.

As I watch, my mind wanders. Who are these circus performers? I try to imagine the kinds of lives they lead, traveling from place to place. Based on movies I’ve seen featuring circus people, I imagine them living in shabby trailers, mending their worn costumes. Today the main women performers appear to be middle-aged, though they are fit and smile throughout their acts. Is that smile just for us? The boy juggler looks to be about fifteen. I wonder where they are from. The announcer informs us that some performers are from Ecuador. The clown who greets us at the entrance is clearly Chilean.

Back home, I do some research. The Farfans are several generations of family trapeze artists. The original trapeze act was featured at the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus years ago. This performance today strikes me as hybrid, modified continuation of the family tradition, incorporating Latin American artists, and that over the years has struggled to live up to the fame of the original Farfans.

At home the kids talk nonstop about all the wonders they’d seen.