Yes friends, once again it's circus time in the Berkshires. And that doesn't mean my in-laws are coming for dinner; that was last week. It means that once again the Cole Brothers circus is back at the American Legion field in Dalton for its annual two-day visit on Monday, June 29, and Tuesday, June 30.
And that can only mean one thing: The nuts are coming out in droves.
"Oooh! Don't take the kids to the circus because the elephants live a life chained to a picket line."
Would it make you feel any better if they let them just cruise through town unencumbered? Telling an elephant "STAY!" is like telling me not to eat the last Eskimo pie in the freezer.
With this year being the 30th anniversary of my employment with Circus Vargas, I can tell you that the elephants, the largest land animals in the world, could pull up the stakes they are chained to, if they had the brain capacity to do so. They're powerful, graceful animals, but they're dumber than a box of rocks. Because they lack a thumb, they can't comprehend much of anything. And if they could, I doubt they would be whining about their living conditions. I think they would complain more about having a 6-foot muscular appendage hanging off their faces.
And what's the major complaint of the animal rights crowd? "Ban the circus because the elephants live in squalor. The trucks that they travel in are dirty."
Give me a break. Should the circus ride them around in really tall luxury Hummer
I've seen how these animals are treated in the circus first hand. And people should be more worried about the living conditions of the clowns, rather than the typical knee-jerk reaction groups like PETA have for the circus animals. The animal's trainers treat these performing animals as if they were family pets. They are fed, watered and cared for as if they were going to be sitting on the couch with them watching the ballgame after an evening walk.
Please remember that there is a big picture here.
A therapist once told me, "Never let insanity get in the way of the big picture." Of course, I was wearing a red rubber nose and huge shoes at the time.
It's a great sentiment. Something the animal rights advocates should follow, instead of standing outside of the circus waiting for me to show up to flip them off.
I know that people place human emotions onto animals. I do it all the time when I think the dog can really read my mind and thus should let herself out at 4:30 in the morning.
But let's remember what Circus Day means. Not only to a community (thanks to the Lions Club, which brings the circus to town each year, for all its community support), but to a little kid who has only seen an elephant on TV.
The circus, animals included, is a piece of Americana that should be supported. It is a traveling museum of what was the prime form of entertainment since the time of the James Polk administration. The circus has been around this nation longer than the automobile, the phone, inside plumbing and electricity (longer than my mother-in-law has been around, and a lot more fun).
How often do you get the chance to see four motorcycles spinning aimlessly inside a huge steel globe? Or watching a seven-man pyramid high-wire act with a snow cone in your hand, not noticing that it's dripping all over you because you are so wrapped up in the action of the center ring?
America is slowly losing its history; don't let fringe extremist groups dictate to us the loss of the icons of our past. The circus is still a vital aspect of the future, and we need to embrace it before it's gone forever.
I'll see you at the American Legion field in Dalton, where once again the Cole Brothers circus will be performing two shows a day at 4:30 and 7:30 on Monday the 29th and Tuesday the 30th of June.
Look for me. I'll be just one of the guys there wearing a red rubber nose and big shoes.
Johnnie Carrier of North Adams is a freelance writer who hopes all your days are circus days.
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