We're Going to Miss the Clowns

The news recently came  that The  Ringling Brothers, Barnam and Bailey Circus, The Greatest Show on Earth! is shutting down for good.  This news came with cheers from many, who have noted and protested the treatment of the animals in their shows.  I understand that and agree, based on what facts I have seen.  This public pressure wasn’t stated as the reason for the shut down, however.  The reason given was financial.  Attendance has dwindled over the years and the Circus is no longer a money making proposition.  I can understand that, too.  I haven’t gone to a circus for years.  I did, however, see many circuses in my time.

One of my favorites was the annual Boeing Christmas Party put on in Wichita, Kansas.  My Grandfather worked for Boeing when I was young and their annual “Christmas Party” was an actual full blown circus at the local indoor arena every year around my birthday.  Grandpa would secure tickets for our family and we would go and have a ball.

Along with that, it seemed that every school I attended made an annual field trip to the circus when it came to town.  I even earned a trip to a circus for some special participation in school.  Being many years back, I don’t remember the deed that earned the trip, but I do remember the circus.

Being a child of the 50s and 60s, I used to watch circuses on TV.  There was even a special series hosted by Don Amici highlighting varied circuses throughout the world.  And finally, I took my wife and her youngest sister to their first circus when we were dating.  My wife, not her sister.  She was only 4 or 5.  The sister, not my wife.

Alright, now where was I?  Oh, yes.  Let it be known that I’ve seen many circuses in my life and I truly enjoyed them.  I enjoyed the acts and feats of daring and precision, especially the trapeze acts.  I enjoyed the acrobats, the trained horses and dogs.  And, with apologies for my younger ignorance, even enjoyed the trained wild cats and elephants at the time.  But no circus was ever complete without the clowns.  I loved the clowns.  Everybody loved the clowns.  Those wacky outfits and painted faces enthralled me as they performed their slap stick humor with each other and the audience.  How did they get that many in such a small vehicle?  Once, during a time of stress and tension between me and my parents, I took them to see Emit Kelly Jr., pictured above, in a public appearance.  During that short time, we were able to put aside differences and enjoy a moment of joy with an icon.  Yes, I love the clowns.

It seems the circus is the main, if not the only place to see clowns.  What will happen to the clowns?  It seems that their proper spot is at the circus and without a circus and it’s crowd to perform for and make laugh, what is a clown to do?  I’m sure the profession of being a clown has been slipping for years.  Ringling Brothers once had an actual Clown College for the training of clowns.  That shut down some years back, possibly a harbinger to the closing of the circus.  We need the clowns to help us laugh.  Their humor wasn’t high brow by any measure, but they could take us away from whatever pressure life was putting on us for a short time and make us laugh out loud.  They could, for a short while, make things child like again.  They would invite us into their antics and play.  The world has always needed clowns.  We still do, we just don’t realize it.

Today we have replaced clowns with such things as Honey Boo Boo, who along with her mother are close in many ways, but the fantasy and whimsy have been replaced by what is being called reality.  We have a lot of clowns out in our world at the moment.  We find our modern day clowns in politics, in religion, in what passes for music, and many other places no respectable clown would ever be found.   Yes, I’m being sarcastic, but that’s because I mourn the passing of the clown.  The true clown is becoming an anachronism, and it makes me sad.

The Circus is closing.  That means no more animal cruelty, which is a good thing.  It also means no more clowns.  Not such a good thing.

The old quote goes, “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone.”

Take my word for it, we're going to miss the clowns.