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THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH
listen now: we went to the circus and sat ringside for all the thrills and spill of big top entertainment.
this was our hat trick. in our time we have visited the russian state circus, the uncle sam's american circus and now the chinese state circus.
we like circuses. on telly circuses don't work. they are not big enough on the little box. telly people are not really people (they are larger than life - ie they are lies) but circus people, in a real live circus tent with icky, sticky grass under the collapsible chairs, are real people.
and when real people go flying through the air 30 feet is a long way up. it truly is a death-defying long way up and it's scary and exciting and oh so sweet.
also in real life, circus people drop things and make mistakes and still have to do a big "ta-daaaa!!" at the end of their act and we clap them because they are human and make mistakes in front of us all.
and we noticed this: circuses cannot help but reveal, perhaps exemplify, national cultures and characteristics.
the russian show was a lot of pomp and circumstance, serious people with lots of natural dignity, they seem to occupy their space and light like imperial bears.
guess what? the american circus had lots and lots of internal combustion engine stuff - fast motorbikes in a little tiny cageball a-whizzing round scaring the wits out of you just a few feet away and a lovely clown car with squirty water and lots of bangs.
much of the chinese show was about balance and precision, grace and movement.
we like circuses and we like circus people. we can't wait for the next one.
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