The Greatest Show On Earth

I went to the circus last night with some friends and their kids. It was a lot of fun, not quite as spectacular as I had hoped, but entertaining. The last time I went to the circus was about 7 years ago when I was living in New Jersey and I went to the Big Apple Circus in NYC, it was amazing. This one was still fun though. There were clowns, dancing horses, high jumping dogs, trapeze artists, tight rope walkers, acrobats, crazy stretchy people, and by far my favorite, the pregnant lady and the elephant. Yes, that's right, a pregnant lady, I would guess about 6 months along, who was climbing and swinging on a elephant. Does anyone else think that is a little disturbing??? I think it would make an entertaining news piece on Inside Edition! Somebody call Deborah Norville.

Before the show there was a pre-show where you get to meet the performers and go back stage and see all the animals. Here's the elephant backstage. You may ask: "Amanda is that just a small piece of rope between you and that huge elephant?" And my answer would be, "Yes." Isn't that crazy? When we went to the zoo recently there was a huge steel fence between us and the elephants and here it's just some twine. All that was flashing in my head was the scene from that TV show "When Animals Attack," of a crazy, circus elephant that got loose and went on a rampage in Hawaii. Every time I pass the event center now I almost expect the elephant to come running out in front of my car. (I know I have a way, over active imagination.)

Random Thought Alert: I live near the new Event Center here and I have been driving by all week and I noticed the big rigs and Winnebagos, about 50 of them in the parking lot leading up to the opening night of the circus and I just can't stop thinking about what the life of a circus performer must be like. They said they travel to 200 cities a year, I would die in a Winnebago for that long. The "Ring Master" said that he has been in the circus for 27 years, moment of silence please, and his wife and three children travel with him all over the place. I read on the website that they traveled 27,000 miles last year. And of course, his wife works for the circus also, how else are they supposed to meet people?! This just may be an entertaining reality show too. I should be working for Mark Burnett. Does anyone know him? Get me a job application.

Update: I didn't get tickets to Oprah, but thank you to all of those who called on my behalf. We'll try again next season. (Sniffle, Sniffle.)