The Circus Comes to Town
By H. Maker
Our little town of Pakville was
buzzing with excitement. After years of quiet boredom,
the streets of Pakville had come alive and there
was excitement in the air - The 3 Ring Circus was
coming back to town. Like all children I always
enjoyed going to the circus. I loved to listen the
big bands with the band leader, twirling and twisting
his glittering baton through the air, majestically
and proudly walking through the streets of our town.
I watched the hilarious performances of the clowns
and the jesters as they stumbled and fell performing
their crazy antics, the noble and wild animals dancing
and jumping to the crackling whip of the ringmaster
in his splendid uniform.
Private DoitAll, Ringmaster of the Circus, promised
us a blockbuster show, with breath-taking performances
from his best 3 artists, Skimmer, The High Flying
Trapeze, the rising star, Alfy, The Human Canon
Ball, who streaked across the skies in a blaze of
light and landed in far away places and then there
was the Brady Bunch, the Dare Devil Riders.
There was a mad rush for tickets and excited citizens
converged from nearby towns to watch the show. The
parks and streets, which are normally in a mess,
were immediately cleaned up and tastefully decorated
with buntings and posters of the three-star performers
and the air was full of expectancy.
The promoters had planned well and the entire town
council had been given free front row seats for
all the performances, as such they bent backward
to provide them with electricity connections and
traffic police to control the mass surge of spectators.
There were conflicting reports as to which act drew
the maximum crowd, but it seemed that all three
were very popular. Surprisingly, there were no outward
incidents and the entire program went off in a disciplined
and festive atmosphere.
The star artist of the High Flying Trapeze had been
out of circulation for almost eight years due to
an injury from his dare devil performances. But
after eight years of treatment by specialists, he
had emerged hail and hearty, no worse for his isolation
from his family, admires and fans. Circus Regulators
had banned him from performing in the circus and
had accused him of tampering with the trapeze and
had cancelled his license. But, much to the annoyance
and embarrassment of the Regulators, the Supreme
Authority of Circuses, after eight years of deliberations,
had lifted the ban and had allowed him to be back
in circulation. As such, he felt vindicated and
was ready for action.
His statements were magnanimous and he announced
that he held no grudges against the Regulators and
was willing to forget the past. He requested all
performers to work together to ensure that the 3
Ring Circus was a big success. He was in full command
and took to the road, full of vigor and confidence
and plunged into his performance like a professional.
His fans loved it and followed him around the towns
in a long trail of donkey carts, motorbikes, cars,
buses, trucks and anything else with wheels. Every
town he visited, he was treated like a hero returning
from battle. They showered him with rose petals,
distributed sweets and sang and danced in the streets,
chanting his name.
Alfy, the Human Canon Ball, was another performance
that was incredible and failed any logical explanation.
Its star performer, like the Flying Trapeze Celebrity,
had been out of circulation for personal reasons.
But his magnetic personality and oratory could mesmerize
and thrill his fans and supporters, just by talking
to them, describing his flight through the air via
a telephone. They would throng into the streets,
sit patiently and listen to him in awe and wonder
for hours.
As for the Brady Bunch of the cloth, well they have
been around for a long time, going round and round
in circles, but getting nowhere and have had some
good and bad years, depending on the competition.
But with the arrival of the evergreen Trapeze Master
and the popular Human Canon, the popularity of the
Dare Devils was waning, but still had a following
that could not be ignored.
And so, on a bright sunny day, the Circus came to
town and the citizens of Pakville waited with excitement
and abated breath for the celebrations and performances
to begin. The last time the Circus had come to town,
all hell had broken loose, and our little town had
been turned upside down.
There were week-long wild parties, with frantic
fans, running amok in the streets, disrupting traffic,
closing down schools and businesses, forcing everybody
to join the celebrations. There were daily firework
displays and the usual aerial firing, which is normally
associated with such celebrations, shattering the
quite silence of the night, keeping the fire department
and the LEA on their toes.
Unfortunately, all the noise kept the old and the
women and children shaking in fear. Even some senior
citizens were heard mumbling and crumbling about
the disruption of city life, but then, what are
a few sleepless nights, compared to the thrill of
having the Circus in town.
However, the increasing popularity of the three
main performers was worrying the Circus organizers,
including DoitAll and there was talk that the performers
were considering that if they were so popular and
such crowd pullers, why have the Ringmaster and
not go into business on their own?
But then, the one advantage that DoitAll had over
the best of them was his Ringmaster’s uniform,
without which, Uncle Sam and the other financiers
would not back the circus. It would also be very
difficult to control all the clowns and jesters
and the performing tigers and monkeys of the circus.
No matter how popular the star performers were,
without this symbol of authority, the Ringmaster’s
Uniform, they would not get anywhere.
So the big question on everybody’s lips was:
would this tussle between the Ringmaster and the
star performers get out of hand and disrupt their
daily lives? Would it lead to the compulsory holidays
of the past and closing of schools and businesses,
create chaotic traffic jams and put a strain on
the already overworked law enforcing agencies and
become a thorn in the side of the Town Council and
the citizens?
And if so, who cares? How often do we get a chance
to see such talent and excitement? And as to who
will win the coveted Pride of Performance Award?
Well, just keep watching and listening to the clowns
and the court jesters and you will get an idea
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