The Greatest Show on Earth

Last night we took Jackson to the Circus. Ringling Bros / Barnum & Bailey is in town at Kemper Arena through the weekend and Michelle got us some great seats through Block. (http://www.ringling.com) We were 7 rows off the show floor right on the aisle.

I hadn't been to the circus in 15 years and Michelle couldn't remember when she last went. But I have to tell you they are right when they say it is the greatest show on earth. It would be pretty hard to dispute that, and if there is something better, I would like to see it.

Jackson loved the animals and boy were their a lot of them. Elephants, horses, lions, cows, pigs, goats, lamas, sheep dogs, shetland ponies, and more. The elephants were, of course, Jackson's favorite. The Lions were kind of a dud, and they listened to the lion tamer about as well as my wife listens to me.

I think I am safe in saying that Michelle's favorite part of the show was the high wire guys. Specifically though, an act I don't know the name of. The act is based on the principal of counter balance. A man runs around in a circle that is attached to a frame the shape of an exclamation point with a weight on the other end. Then by his own weight affecting the balance of the frame, the frame spun in a circle itself. The guy ran around inside the circle, outside the circle (no net at all and while the frame was moving!), jumped rope on the outside, and did flips over himself to stay even with the increasing speed of the rotating frame. It was a sight.

My favorite bit was a clown show that took place entirely upside down from the roof. A wood floor was suspend from the ariel lattice work above the show. The tent the clowns came out of was upside down, the table their stuff was on was upside down, and they were upside down. They bounced balls off the floor, played catch, juggled, and more. The magical part of it all was that the only time objects appeared to be subject to the laws of gravity were when they were passed between the 2 clowns. Everything stayed on the table just fine or in place just fine. The illusion was complete.

We all had a wonderful time, and Jackson was terribly well behaved. Jackson even had a A+ pottie report. He ate popcorn and drank bottled water at the show. Twice during the show he told me he had to go to the bathroom. We got up, walked out to the men's room, and he handled it like a champion going all by himself at the junior urinal. We were very proud of him.