Last Sunday, on its very last day, we hauled our tired selves to the state fair. Bell had never been to more than the little county fair, and even though I wanted to dawdle over merchants' booths and quilt displays, we decided we would gear this toward Bell, working in our old people sights when and if we could. The only thing we determined was that we would begin with the circus. I was not expecting much; after all, it was free, so how good could it be? Yet, something about it beckoned.
I should admit that about every year a small circus comes through Comanche or Duncan, and I always hope Bell does not find out and ask to go. I had no desire to see a small, two bit circus. I had an idea they would be dirty, shoddy, seedy. At the other end of the spectrum, a few years ago a friend gave us tickets to the big Shriners circus in the City. It was fun, lots of dazzle and splendor and daring feats. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and it was a day well spent.
But this day, it was not an expensive big circus with high wires and elephants and three rings. Before the show began, Giovanni (Nino) Zoppe stood outside the tent playing the crowd a bit with his troupe. There was accordion music, clapping, and the shouting of "HEY" a lot, along with the joke of music requests that always turned into their old world "Hey" music. Some of the crowd didn't get it, but it was funny in a dry way. It was more an old world style circus complete with Mama Zoppe who had a scary lot of makeup and seemed to speak only canned lines. Mama Zoppe would have fit perfectly behind a fortune teller's table replete with crystal ball. There were no big cats, though there was a ring full of small dogs, fast dogs, and spotted dogs that could all do tricks. Oh, a fat pony also made an appearance with some larger horses. I was a little creeped out by Mama Zoppe, but I was charmed by the clowns and the other entertainers. Nino the clown was spectacular, along with his cohort whose name I did not catch. Until that day, I have only seen one clown act that I liked, but that act was not nearly in the same caliber as this. The jugglers were funny. The trapeze artist, thrilling. We laughed and we cried and we were so very glad we went. Only an hour long, the show didn't take up much of our time, but we would have stayed in our seats willingly had the show been longer.
I think what I loved is that this was a show that the audience interacted with. It was integral to the pre-show and to the show itself. Even Jack Dear was calling out to Niño at one point. We were close enough that though we could see them sweat in the heat of the tent, we could also see them smile, their eyes softening with the applause. That also meant that we were close enough that they were people, not just entertainment. It was theater wonderment in a ring of sawdust. I was offended by the bulk of audience who walked out during the closing, those people who were too in a hurry to wait for a single bow. Those performers had given us laughter. The least we could do is not be in a rush . . . the rest of the fair would surely wait a few more minutes.
I do not wish to romanticize this thing we saw. It was a circus and smelled like one. A few of the artists could have used a fresh shampoo. Their props had a few tatters. I am sure they were every bit as gritty and seedy as I expected the ones to be in Comanche. I have no desire to run away and join their life. I also am sure we will again see a big three ring affair - they sell us some different sort of entertainment.
I so much wish I had taken a camera that day (we decided water bottles needed to be in the backpack instead). I would have caught my child and her father's profiles absolutely lit up, delighting in that spinning trapeze boy or that Chaplin-esque clown. I would have taken a picture of them with Mr. Zoppe as he stood at the door afterwards shaking hands and thanking us for coming as we thanked him for his magic.
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