The American Circus in All Its Glory

As a kid, I got to spend most of a week with the Flying Wallendas on a circus tour.

There's such a difference between watching anonymous performers walk a highwire, versus watching a girl your own age, who you've just been playing tag with the last few hours, walking the wire 90 feet in the air, no net - and then climbing up two levels of people to get on top of a pyramid. It's hard to watch.

Also, the Wallenda kids wouldn't ride roller coasters at the theme park, "Who knows who put that up - I only go in the air on something my dad has checked."

I don't have a lot of fond memories from traditional circuses as a kid. I mostly remember being a little bored.

The first time I saw a modern circus (Cirque Du Soleil) I was completely blown away.

One of my mom's close friends is an animal handler for a circus. I first met him when I was in 3rd grade shortly after moving into our new house. I let the dog out for a walk and this dude rides a Harley up the lawn, gets off, pulls out a whip, and asks if my mom was home. I slammed the door shot and yelled to my mom, who ran out and give him a hug.

Thirty minutes later, the lion tamer is in the yard showing my parents and me the finer points of operating a whip. The neighbors must have loved us!

Fast forward almost 20 years, and the animal handler was at the house the day I brought my girlfriend (now wife!) home to meet the folks for the first team. He regaled us with stories, such as having a shredded leg fixed up at a back alley surgeon in Thailand, and being stranded on an airport tarmac with a pair of elephants somewhere in China. He gave my GF his business card, which had the tagline "If it's wild, I work it."

He did work for Ringling Bros. for a couple years, but most of his work has been with smaller circus acts. Definitely an interesting dude.

Ditto!