The Circus Is ... Well ... Back

They closed the street on Tuesday and by the afternoon a few trailers had rolled in. Large, metal trailers with the tiniest of windows (I think?) way up at the top.

Those would be the animals. *sigh*

My Wednesday morning walk from my parking lot to our building was littered a little more than normal with cigarette butts, beer cans and half-smoked joints. Many half-smoked joints. Trucks were idling and dark sheets cover every window. Just outside the driver's side door of one truck was a large plastic bottle that was no longer filled with its original contents... if you catch my drift.

Those would be the workers and performers. *sigh*

Today, buses are pulling up left and right dropping off the many small children that will come to see the performance thanks to schools and day cares. Children that will come with ideas of sparkle, neat animals and acrobatics and their parents who are wishing to be anywhere but there.

This would be this circus. *sigh*

I'm not against the actual circus, per say. I like the idea of it... the show. The unicycles, clown cars and acrobats. The lights and loud music and popcorn for all to share. Those crazy aerialists and that lady that changes dresses every time the tent whooshes over her head (really, how do they DO that?)

I'm against the creepy old men dressed as clowns that leer at the small children. I'm against the ringmaster literally dimming the lights and pointing out "the good kids" whose parents bought them an over-priced flashing piece of plastic garbage. I'm against blowing folks out of canons... cool or not it's just not safe to blow anyone out of anything.

Oh - but the animals.

I'm guessing the pig didn't ask to be trained to push around a stroller with a baby pig inside. I highly doubt the elephant likes being manually prodded to put it big ole foot up on a ball. I also think the horses want to do a little more than trot around a concrete performance floor only to get shuffled back away somewhere and then - no doubt - back on the trailer either for the night or for the next few nights of traveling. And no one really thinks the dog wearing a clown hat is hysterical.

But then I think - is the pig pushing a stroller having a better life than the one that gave me sausage with my pancakes?

Truth is, I don't really know.