Take off your hat, I want to stand up.

Chapter 25: The Circus.

Chapter 25: The Circus.

Ringley Brothers Circus comes to town.

Ev declared, get in the car we are going to town to see the circus. We'll knock me down, paint me in peanut butter and call me jammy that was the best news yet. We took five minutes and away we went, going to the circus. Life could not get any better.

The traffic was murder, folks from far and wide had the same notion at the same time, Ev swore under her breath, loud enough to suggest a slight, not enough to repeat without getting the look of parental incrimination, she swerved left at the lights. She did not take time to brake or slow up, she cranked the wheel hard, the standard Chevy coughed in reply as it needed more gas or a lower gear. Gas was the answer and we jolted down Dewdney Street, a glancing turn at the corner and down the alley. Grandpa Blair's house was on the left, did we slow down? no. She grabbed the wheel with both hands, grim determination etched on her brow, hard left into the potato patch. She stomped on the brakes with a two footed move, we all jerked forward, elbows and knees bracing whatever was a available, screech we halted in a cloud of dust. The 1952 Chevy had no seat belts. In one of these classic stops it was each on their own, if you did not keep a look up, anything could happen. I have actually witnessed dogs, kids, groceries, you name it land in the back and on the floor in the blink of an eye. There she stated, we can walk to the circus from here. Grandpa had the perfect location in town, we could always park behind his house and walk everywhere.

Grandpa still had his house up for the estate sale. We crossed at the corner, the traffic had increased. We marched in a determined line until we arrived at the entrance gates to the Regina exhibition grounds. After paying the fare for all the tickets in various amounts of single dollars and handfuls of quarters we found our places inside the big top. The mustachiod ringmaster wore an elegant suit of grand colours and tails, a bright banded black top hat that he relished with flavour and fervour.

Ladies and gentlemen he hailed, children of all ages, welcome to the greatest show on earth. As I sat there transfixed by the moment I truly believed I was at the greatest show on earth, let the show begin. The lion tamer, the acrobats, jugglers, clowns in funny blue little cars, how do they drive those things? The best performance, the one I remember still tickles me and makes me shake my head, the prancing ponies that we're all decked out in Ukrainian colours with bright red and ruby ribbons were being ridden by grinning monkeys, they also happen to be wearing miniature ringmaster top hats with the colourful band, save the irritating elastic rubber band that kept the hat firmly planted on their tiny heads. They nervously kept adjusting the chin strap as the bouncing pony vibrated the hat down towards their neck. I thought those monkeys are terrified. They do not look like willing passengers, rather it was the pony who had the cheery gig. They needed the monkey to stay on so the people could admire their prancing, rhythmic legs, knees up, knees down, tail flic, head prance, round and round they went in total preening excellence. The monkey, not so much, if he wasn't strapped on the guy would be gone, long gone and good bye, see ya' all later dude.