The circus is in town--Zing Zang Zoom

Richard

Final Approach
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Ack...city life
Tonight I went to Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey with my mother, brother and his kids. Awesome! Great fun for kids of all ages. This year they're including a running theme featuring a magician using his powers for good Vs evil. And there is a lot of comedy. The elephants were great. The tiger act was in Spanish which kept me guessing why.
 
I have never been to the circus
 
Tonight I went to Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey with my mother, brother and his kids. Awesome! Great fun for kids of all ages. This year they're including a running theme featuring a magician using his powers for good Vs evil. And there is a lot of comedy. The elephants were great. The tiger act was in Spanish which kept me guessing why.

We use to go the Shrine Circus. Haven't been in years. Sounds like it's time to go again. Thanks for the reminder. :yes:
 
For many years in Camden, ME was a great little restaurant, "Yorkie's." Erskine York was a terrific guy who covered his restaurant's walls with autographed photos from many famous
entertainers from all walks of the entertainment field. After many years Yorkie closed the restaurant and downsized to a short-order food stand on Route #1 in Rockport(a couple miles short of the Rockport/Camden town line). The original restaurant was a "destination"
and Camden has always had its share of famous people who'd visit and/or retire there.
Today think David Crosby(C-S &N); Donny McLean(American Pie); or way back when, Cyrus H. K. Curtis(Curtis Publishing Company). So who was Yorkie?
http://www.library.umaine.edu/speccoll/FindingAids/YorkErskine.htm

One of the most delightful professional circus clowns. When I was a teenager and riding my unicycle I had appeared in numerous parades(Zippy the Clown) with Yorkie. On one three day occasion I appeared at his invitation with Clyde Beatty - Cole Brothers Circus when it was set up in New Hampshire.

The circus is a great institution; Yorkie had many stories to tell, and I remember one of the large photos in his restaurant was very special to him(as were they all, I'm sure). It was of Joe Basile. ???????????? I don't know how many years Joe Basile was the maestro wielding the baton, leading the Ringling Bros. - Barnum & Bailey Circus Band. Some of you may even remember his name and seeing him when Ringling Bros. had a regular television show. Long live the circus!

HR
 
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When I was just a few years old, for a short time I lived in an orphanage. We were taken to the Shrine Circus. Right in front of our section, a trapeze artist slipped and fell to his death on the concrete floor of the arena. This was before nets were mandatory.

I will never forget the sequence of events. He slipped, and did somersaults all the way to the floor, he made it look like part of the act in front of all us kids. The clowns came out en mass and continued the charade, playing doctor, running about, surrounding the body from our view. They did their best, all of them, to make it seem like part of the show. We had seen the blood, we all knew better. That fellows bravery has stuck with me my entire life.

John
 
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