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Circus

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by Bob Parks, Jan 16, 2017.

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  1. Bob Parks

    Bob Parks F1 Veteran
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    #1 Bob Parks, Jan 16, 2017
    I saw that Ringling Bros. Circus is folding it's tent...literally. As a kid I went to see this wonderful event many times and couldn't wait for summer when the circus came to town. In later years after we relocated to Sarasota , Florida I went out to the winter training quarters east of town and watched the performers and animals train. Then when I started flying, I flew out of the same little airport west and just across the road from the training quarters. Taking off from strip 090, as if there were runway headings, I flew over the circus grounds and could see all the buildings , people, and the long string of train cars parked on the tracks that lined the road between the airport and the circus. As a twenty year old and walking through the area where the aerialists trained, I was hooted at and approached by more then one female high wire flyer. Please don't nail me for bragging, I'm not, I knew some of those people because their kids went to school with me but some of the younger women were a bit aggressive. AND built like small Arnolds. So, anyway, an American icon is gone after 148 years.
     
  2. It's Ross

    It's Ross Formula 3

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    #2 It's Ross, Jan 17, 2017
    When I was 10 or 11 years I rode my bicycle to where the circus was setting up and found one of the elephants tied to a stake just standing there. I approached it and it seemed to greet me. Anyway, I was allowed to stay near it and eventually was petting it. I lingered for hours. It seemed to enjoy the attention, maybe my imagination.
    It was this gigantic creature that could have squashed me but was quite gentle. I had the distinct impression it was sad and lonely.
    I didn't witness any blatant abuse or harsh treatment, aside being tied to a stake which was presumably how it spent it's life.
    I feel badly for the performers out of work but will always feel worse for the animals.
     
  3. Gatorrari

    Gatorrari F1 World Champ
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    #3 Gatorrari, Jan 17, 2017
    Apparently it was removing the elephants from the circus that killed it. One advocate says that the elephants were the best-treated and best-cared for in the world and that the circus never should have made that decision.

    The only big-top, three-ring circus I ever saw was in the '70s when I was a college student in Gainesville, FL, and they set up the tent in a big field near the Gainesville airport. That circus was the Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers, probably the Ringling-B&B's biggest rival at the time.
     
  4. SloW8

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    #4 SloW8, Jan 17, 2017
    Well, that was my second child's top choice to run off with. I hope he has some backup plans...
     
  5. Bob Parks

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    #5 Bob Parks, Jan 17, 2017
    I mentioned my "little friend" in the book that was also very gentle and enjoyed company. Her trainer and keeper was very good to her. They do respond to people
     
  6. Juan-Manuel Fantango

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    #6 Juan-Manuel Fantango, Jan 17, 2017
    Why do you think that is??? It's a obvious answer.
     
  7. Bob Parks

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    #7 Bob Parks, Jan 17, 2017
    I'm not sure what you question is. If it is why the circus folded , yes, the answer is obvious. People and especially kids now have too many ways to get entertained. Every thing has a time to go and it apparently it was time. The fascination isn't there anymore. When I was a kid I couldn't wait to see summer come with the circus but when I was back home from the service I saw all kinds of free performances at Lido Casino and beach. The aerialists and acrobats couldn't resist the audiences there and performed all the time. Amazing stuff. The Wallendas had a set up in their back yard a couple of blocks from school and we used to go watch them practice. If papa Wallenda said that you had to practice at 1600, you practiced, no arguments. Sometimes the younger son would come to school with bruises from hitting the ropes.
     
  8. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #8 Rifledriver, Jan 17, 2017
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2017
    The recent deal with the elephants and a host of other issues, lawsuits and regulations driving up costs all at the hands of animal rights groups made it unviable as a business. The same animal rights people were all rejoicing at the announcement, I guess all the unemployed people are of no concern.

    Sad day.

    In California I lived near Marine World. Just one of the ridiculous requirements forced upon them was to build a shaded habitat for the seals and sea lions so they could get in out of the sun. In their natural habitat there is no shade. When they get hot they get in the water. That wasn't good enough. My ex was a friend of one of the vets there. The animals are very well taken care of. One of their big challenges is the animals live so long past their usual life spans there are a lot of old age issues not typically encountered. When too old to perform they all get retired to some place nearby and continue to get the same treatment for as long as they live. It's expensive.
     
  9. Juan-Manuel Fantango

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    #9 Juan-Manuel Fantango, Jan 17, 2017
    Well Bob, I think time has passed us by. It is liberalism gone amok! the drip drip of liberalism. That's all. Just one mans opinion and I know, this is not the political section, so sorry.
     
  10. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #10 tazandjan, Jan 17, 2017
    Bob- Do not feel so bad. Last big top for me was in the early 50s in San Antonio, TX. Quite a spectacle.
     
  11. PSk

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    #11 PSk, Jan 18, 2017
    Sorry animals should not be used for any circus, etc. They shouldn't even be in zoos but that appears to be the only way to stop us causing their extinction.

    Now if an animal could say "yes I want to be in the circus" that would be a different story, but it cannot.

    Yes as part of the food chain we have to eat some animals, just like other animals have to eat animals ... but we are the only animal that thinks it has the right to imprison an animal and use it for entertainment.

    Circus' can have great shows using human beings as the animal entertaining.
    Pete
     
  12. Manda racing

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    #12 Manda racing, Jan 18, 2017
    Harry James Built his incredible chops playing trumpet in the circus-- it was the muscle making gig to have after that. So I always wanted to get a gig doing so but when I got the call my family laughed me out of it.

    Regrets.
     
  13. Gator

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    #13 Gator, Jan 18, 2017
    As a kid in St. Pete., the circus parade use to go by my elementary school. The school would let us out so we could watch as they would drive by.......and the elephants walked. In junior high, a group of us boys would go and help in unfolding the tent segments and take orders from the yelling roust-a-bouts. The elephants were used to erect the poles that supported the tent. After the tent was up, we would get free tickets for the show.
     
  14. Gatorrari

    Gatorrari F1 World Champ
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    #14 Gatorrari, Jan 18, 2017
    I remember at times taking Long Island Rail Road trains into Manhattan and seeing the circus train parked in Sunnyside Yard just outside of the East River tunnels. They used to unload the train there and parade the contents, including the elephants, through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and across 34th Street to get to Madison Square Garden.
     

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