As soon as I stepped inside to the darkness and the sound of heavy and light feet going up and down the metal stands with seats in anticipation of what is going to be the circus, I was happy.  When it starts, my breath is taken away by the beautiful young people, with their talent in costumes galore, prancing out on the stage in music, song and dance presenting themselves

One by one you get to know them: the two clowns that work off each other, the juggler and the many trapeze artists who are gloriously attired. Two of them missed the catch, and fell to the net below. “Ooooo  Aaaahh”. 

The strong bodies in the colorful skintight stretchy outfits are stellar with bright light bouncing off and around them. They are archetypal. They are an age old tradition. These people are traveling and living in the trailers that form the corral in the parking lot. At intermission, the people serving me Coke and popcorn are the same people preforming death defying acts earlier. They are a family.

After intermission, the big metal globe made of chain rolls out onto the stage and I think “Oh no. I thought maybe we weren’t going to have to do this.” 

But we do. The giant globe motorcycle act. Inside a tent, this act is nauseating from the gas fumes. And loud. The Mexican aspect makes it bearable.

First one guy gets in there and he zooms all the way around the circle; upside down at the top and truly that’s enough, but then a second guy goes in there, and zooms perpendicular to the first guy. Then a third guy comes in. He’s the diagonal track. A fourth one comes in and the fourth one is the smallest in the family and he crosses himself before he starts his ride and his ride is short.

The final act is a love story. A man and a woman balance at opposite ends of the same tightrope. They are doing amazingly ridiculous things in supreme balance. Watching someone that balanced, does something to you.

When home, all I had left of the magic was the popcorn container. On it is a picture of the circus family. It is now a napkin holder, holding my memories and my longings.