I went to a tent store. "What kind of tent do you need?" "Circus."
A clown I knew who was retiring from Ringling Brothers gave me his giant shoes, and somebody else made me a clown suit.
I'm shocked to be saying this, but as a child, I never went to a circus. It cost too much.
But the soul of touring and the heart of it is basically every day is like putting up a circus tent.
The circus looks abandoned and empty. But you think perhaps you can smell caramel wafting through the evening breeze, beneath the crisp scent of the autumn leaves. A subtle sweetness at the edges of the cold.
When I was a kid I joined the circus. I did that. It is true. But it's not like you think. There was a guy, he had his own circus. His name was Carol Jacobs and he owned it. It was a small thing.
I always liked circuses, so I would have enjoyed that.
