134 Greatest show

Farewell to the "Greatest Show on Earth"

I love the circus! From a young girl to a senior citizen that attraction has never diminished. The colorful tents, exotic costumes, and daredevil feats beckoned me with a magnetic force of undeniable proportions.

Throughout my childhood years, the summer circus visits were highly anticipated and longingly awaited. The posters invited every age from near and far to come enjoy the myriad attractions. And we did! 

The performance location of the yearly trips was very near my father’s place of business so we got to see all the preparations unfold from the huge tents to the food trucks, and other vehicles, transporting and unloading the magical show. Once the circus gates were opened the scents of popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, and candy apples filled the air, making it impossible to resist.

Watching the high wire acts was a special draw for me --- holding my breath until the performers were safe after swinging from post to post and walking across the tent on a teeny, tiny wire.

My undying love continued to this day, but when I heard in January the “Greatest Show on Earth” was permanently closing this spring, I was shocked and could not believe it was truly happening. I knew the circus had gone through problems and difficulties, but I thought it would survive

So when a trip to my son’s home was planned this winter, I started checking the circus schedule near where he lived--Charlotte, N.C. happened to be on the schedule and that was about an hour away.

A double purpose evolved as I realized my grandkids had never been to the circus, making it a special time for all of us--the first and last time to go to the circus.

The “Greatest Show on Earth” did not disappoint--the storyline for the afternoon performance was an adventure in outer space, and it truly was out of this world. Our grandkids were mesmerized by the show and all that was going on. My husband tagged along, not really sold on the whole idea, but guess who was enthralled through most of the show, especially when the lions and tigers gave a breathtaking performance. 

While it was held indoors and not in the classic tent, the magic was still there – the high-wire precision, goofy clowns in silly cars, and animal acts, including dogs of all sizes, llamas, pigs (yes, pigs), and motorcycle riders. It was hard to watch it all as was always the case of the three-ring circus, but this was more like two rings and an outer space venue way above the floor.

Of course the indoor venue was amazing, but I couldn’t help but think of the classic tent that has been put away for good. I will never forget years of watching it being set up for a spring festival when my children were young. At that time in the 1980s, I taught middle school. The location of the circus at the local park was within walking distance of the school. Needless to say, many of us turned it into a learning experience and took the children to watch the elephants raise the tent – something most had never seen before and now no one will ever see again. The animals and trainers worked in sync to raise the huge tent to lofty heights. The bystanders cheered as the tent towered above us all.

I realize it is a way of life that could not continue in our modern world, but for many years, millions were entertained and have lasting memories that will endure.

Our grandkids summed it up in the best possible way--they could not pick a favorite part of the circus because they loved it all!!

 

Frances                  

133 DNA Testing

        DNA Testing

More than a year ago, I ordered a DNA test from Ancestry.com. They sent a kit; you spit into a tube and return the spit to them.

Then around a month later, the results are returned by email.

I remember when we were kids, my sister complained to me that our family was so normal that we could never be great artists or writers. (She is, by the way, a pretty good artist now.)

I felt that way when I saw my DNA results. I guess I was hoping for some American Indian, African or Asian gene history for our family, but we are white bread:

My maternal grandfather came from Germany to the U.S. when he was in his teens so I expected to see more Eastern and Western Europe in my DNA regions. Was he smothered out by white bread or more Scandinavian than German? And there is also the possibility that my particular genetic blend does not include his.

I once thought having Viking blood would be interesting. I assume some of my English ancestors had Viking blood. After seeing the Viking program on the History Channel (only partially once--too violent), I wan't so sure. But probably all of us are descended from some sort of berserk invaders! 

A book I am trying to penetrate is The Origins of the British by Stephen Oppenheimer, who examines historic, linguistic, archaeological, and genetic evidence to determine the origins of the people of England, Scotland, Wales, and to some extent, Ireland. He believes that the Celts came very early to Britain from Iberian and Italy to a much greater extent that from Western and Central Europe. That may explain the 4% from both Italy and the Iberian Peninsula in my genetic makeup.

With the report come links to cousins who have also participated in Ancestry's DNA profile and are willing to communicate with other cousins.  Ancestry provided me with links to 389 cousins: one first/second cousin; 2 third/fourth cousins, and the 386 others at the fourth to sixth level cousin. I have shown the top three with the links to them hidden. The links are through Ancestry and are not direct.

I did contact the 2nd/3rd cousin and she knew less about our family background than I did! I will get around to contacting the third/fourth cousins but first I want to get more of the family tree on Ancestry. One more thing to do!

Ancestry has the biggest database for matching, but some articles that compare DNA testing services caution that there are privacy concerns. The government could use your DNA profile to try to match with a relative. Read the privacy policies of whichever service you use, and if you don't like it, don't get tested.

Ancestry cost $99, but I contacted them and began to receive emails. When I received an email announcing the $65 sale price, I purchased it then.

As you can tell, I have much more work to do, and perhaps I will have more to report!

Still searching  -  Trish

Left, my father holding me and, below, my sister on the bull:

132 A Valentine Blog

Hello, dear readers! You guessed a Valentine blog was coming--what else would I be thinking about this week? Ha! First, I do want to acknowledge that I realize that this is a merchandising holiday. Dinner out, flowers, cards, candy, sexy lingerie are some of the “traditional” gifts.

Do you know how it all got started? Yes, Saint Valentine. But why him? Seems there are several versions of the legend. The Catholic Church recognizes three different saints named Valentin, Valentine, or Valentinus. All three were martyred. 

The most popular story is that Emperor Claudius II decided men with wives didn’t want to join his army and so he just outlawed marriage. A priest, Valentine, continued to marry couples in secret. He got caught and was put to death. Before he died, however, he made friends with the jailer’s daughter (some authors say she was blind) and knowing the end was near he sent her a letter about faith and God’s love which he signed “Your Valentine.”

And why the middle of February? Valentine was buried in A.D. 270--likely in February. The Church also wanted to Christianize the pagan festival of Lupercalia--a fertility festival (think both agriculture and sex)--celebrated in mid-February. 

At Lupercalia, the Roman priests would sacrifice a goat, strip its hide, dip pieces into the goat blood, then run around the streets of Rome slapping women with the bloody strips to make them fertile. All these young women blooded by the goat skins put their names in an urn from which the bachelors chose a name and were paired for a year. If said union lasted the year, then they married. (A strange method of arranged marriage to be sure!)

This festival evolved into Valentine’s Day in the 1400s. It was still mid-February as this
was bird-mating season. In the 1415, Charles, Duke of Orleans, was imprisoned in the Tower of London after being captured at the battle of Agincourt. 

King Henry V let the Duke write a farewell love poem to his wife. (Photo courtesy of the BBC Museum) This poem with the line “my very gentle Valentine…” is said to be the first Valentine love poem. (Don’t you just love historical tidbits?) The Duchess, however, never received her “Valentine” as she died before it was delivered. AND the Duke spent 25 years in the Tower.

For the next several hundred years, Christian festivals and religious ceremonies kept Valentine’s Day alive. Then in 1840, a women named Esther Howland began a cottage industry of making Valentine cards to give her friends and then to sell. Intricate, yes, but made from paper, lace, and picture scraps, she made (in today’s money) nearly $100,000. Examine this amazing sample:

Although I love reading greeting cards, I rarely buy them anymore. Not at $3.99 and up for a single card! Nor do I send anyone a dozen long stemmed red roses at $50-60 (twice the non-Valentine price). 

 I do pick up some candy (CVS has a great sale of buy one, get the second ½ off!) 

Before wishing you a very happy Valentine’s Day, here is a sampling of Valentines from Esther Howland through today.

1920s

Victorian 1920s

1940s

Late 1980s

Modern

Hallmark still sells an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards each year, with 2.5 billion Christmas cards sold. Women purchase 85% of all cards! (I am not surprised.) And, finally, Valentine’s Day is not the #1 day for marriage proposals. Christmas Eve is the winner.

So have a happy day! 

                            Glenne

131 Special orders

Special orders!

A fast food chain circulated a catchy jingle many years ago that proclaimed that “special orders don’t upset us.”

But and this is a big but--most food preparers may not get upset, but they rarely get it right or deliver it as asked.

A bit exaggerated, but I do wonder
what goes on in the kitchen

These requests may not upset that particular chain but many restaurants do have problems with any changes to the dishes on the menus.

The movie When Harry Met Sally showed the intricacies of ordering with particular requests as one of the main characters was a champion at it. Sometimes it can go on for several sentences.

Believe me I am one who knows! I have been accused of being the high maintenance customer by my family and friends. My children cringe when we go out to dinner and I began to order – no tomatoes, no mayonnaise, always dressing on the side, etc.

Can it really be that hard --- eating out should be a treat with no hassles. Just because someone wants a meal prepared in a particular way shouldn’t cause such drama or trauma.

For some reason, tomatoes and mayonnaise seem to be two items you cannot prohibit from gracing your place. No matter how many times you may order asking to hold both these items, they somehow make it to the table, and of course the plate is then sent back to the kitchen. 

I love tomatoes but only after they are cooked (my mother tried to get me to eat raw ones but I never gave in--not sure why), and I like mayonnaise but in limited amounts.

It would save all of us a great deal of time and frustration if the powers that be would just read the orders and follow the requests if the servers have documented it. Sometimes those waiting on you act like it will take an act of Congress to change any menu item (we all know how difficult that can be) while others appear to write it all down. It is a true crap shoot to see what comes to the table. 

And what about those extra spicy dishes – dare to ask for a little less spice and you never know what will come to greet your taste buds when you take the very first bite! Be sure to have a large drink close at hand. One of my sisters recently told me how she had to send a dish back three times before she could eat it. It was too spicy! Three times--really. Finally, a manager jumped in and fixed it properly.

It always seems the eateries that have the menus with pages and pages of choices are the least likely to honor any special orders and actually serve them as asked. With so many choices, it seems changing one or two items would be a minor accommodation.

I hate to give in but sometimes I will order a dish that is really simple so that I don’t have to ask for something on the side or holding an item so it doesn’t come anyway. Caesar salads have become one of my favorites--few items and dressing on the side. That is hard to mess up.

I am a little encouraged as some eateries have instituted a self-ordering area. You can put what you really want from the menu. The only problem is if those preparing the food don’t heed the orders. It could work with a little practice.

Those of us who are picky or particular eaters (as we are sometimes branded)--don’t despair. Generally, we eat less than those who plow through any meal no matter what it contains, and thus this just might help with gaining less weight. But not always!

Come on people, your business is to serve food–-why can’t you listen and get it right!

Savvy, picky Frances        

130 I am The Lap

I am The Lap!

Now that I am retired, I have trouble getting started in the morning. I have art projects, writing tasks, and many little things around the house that need to be done.

I get up at a not-too-early hour and have to pull Tootsie, my Jack Russell terrier, out from under the covers. She needs a trip outside and I need breakfast.

Once that is accomplished, someone is waiting for me by our special dog chair—it has plenty of room for two!

Before I can become The Lap, I must gather all essential equipment—morning beverage (usually diet coke), tablet to check all the news, book, any recent writing to edit, and, of course, Tootsie’s blankie (also known as an old towel).

I may have created this. When we got the big T, she was 7 weeks old. I slept in a chair with her on my lap for about a month. We would go out as soon as it was light and then go back for a little more sleep in the chair.

So Tootsie is not a morning person, I mean, dog. She does turn into a crazy dog in the evenings. 

She brings a toy and barks until you throw it. If you ignore her, she will shove the toy under a piece of furniture, the television table being her 
favorite--when the TV is on, and then bark, bark, bark, bark and more barking until you use the specially designed toy-retriever (a cane) that is kept next to the special dog chair to pull out the toy.





But that is the evening nut, not the a.m. cuddler. In the morning, she expects to be covered with her blankie. 
If it is not available, she will start pawing at your clothes, looking for something to cover her.



It is not entirely one-sided. Research has shown petting a dog or having one in your lap reduces blood pressure, anxiety and depression, triglycerides, and heart rate. Spending time with pets activate the hormone oxytocin, which produces all those 
good physical effects. 

There is even research that suggests having a pet can produce a stronger immune system and protect against certain types of cancer. They also encourage more exercise among owners, but not in the a.m. in my house!

Since I have been drinking my beverage, I am always the one who must break up the morning cuddle. I am not sure how long she would stay in The Lap—I always break first.

I could be more assertive and let her nap alone, but I do enjoy a long morning snuggle—especially on a dreary, cold day.

                                                               Trish

Perhaps I am ever so slightly being bossed by a 15-pound tyrant?

129 The Circus

The Circus--2016 or Where Can I Run Away To Now?

What a year we have just had! 2016, according to some pundits and dictionary editors, is going to become a word in its own right. 

“Wow! That was a 2016!” The nearest meaning I can give “ a 2016” is “surreal.” Synonyms for “surreal” are bizarre, uncanny, and strange. And, yes, I think 2016 was a bit of all three synonyms!

So far this past year, among my blogs, I have written about the deaths of so many noted people, about my favorite New York City places closing, and I am adding now the end of the circus after 146 years. Trump won the presidency; the Cubs won the pennant. It is a bit strange to me that all these events occurred in 2016. I recognize we are an aging population and that to everything there is a season, but I will remember this as a “surreal” year.

This photo of elephants at work is only one of the reasons that Clyde Beatty – Cole Brothers closed its tent flaps and why Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey announced at the end of 2016 they will finish their animal-less tour spring and close up shop, too. Some 30 elephants were killed “in the line of work” in the 30 years. 

Ferocious cats have lost eyes. Circuses have been indicted and found guilty and fined for lack of care of the animals, for improper handling, rampant TB among animals, no veterinary paperwork, and the use of these prods to make animals behave as the handler wished. [Nasty looking thing!]

One entertainment executive said that people no longer are thrilled by acts that were considered dangerous (“death defying”) – trapeze artists, and lion tamers, for example. 

Even if you never saw them perform, the Flying Wallendas were a recognizable name - a family of high wire artists from the 1920s until recently. Generation after generation became part of their family act. Each generation, however, lost 3 or 4 members by falling to their deaths. No nets, they said.

We can see these death defying actions on TV or our iPads at will. Watch America’s Got Talent and see all sorts of contortionists, acrobats, clowns, and high wire acts.

Another issue for the circuses is the railway costs. Moving from city to city by rail has been the tradition. During WWII, Franklin Roosevelt felt the morale of families needed the circuses in the towns and allowed them to continue using the rails. A prohibitively expensive transport now.

There have not been sideshows with freaks since the 1960s. Where they still existed, they were often shutdown or criticized in the local press. Freak is not a politically correct term – and it should not be. For sure, these folk were exploited.

I offer my guess that the circus is no longer relevant. It was the stuff of dreams. Small towns in the 1920s -1960s got the most entertainment they could possibly get from the “circus coming to town.” 

The circus was one of the first venues that gave women equal billing. Beautiful, bedazzlingly-dressed young girls swinging on trapezes, riding elephants, and jumping off and on the backs of horses was a whole new world. Ernest Hemingway said the circus “is the only spectacle …that has the quality of a happy dream.” No longer.

Along came the media age--TV, movies, video games, and the internet took precedence – enthralling youngsters as the circus once had done. Then there is the societal concern over the animals. No Jumbo--fewer circus seats filled. Lots of conflict about the ethical treatment of animals!

IF you still really, really want to go to a circus there are a few options left. California has its “steampunk” circus – Circus Vargas. It is said to be a plethora of goggles and gadgets. The Zoppe Family Circus is from Italy and the performers are sixth generation. Lots of clowns, jugglers, and audience participation. A family show! 

Finally, if one can afford it, follow Canada’s Cirque du Soleil. It is the global enterprise with touring troupes who perform in major cities. Each of the shows has a theme and/or tells a story. Pricing per seat is from $40 to $155. Oh, yes! If you are off to Russia, the Moscow State Circus is still producing two different shows – one with animals and the other is more a political story with acrobats, high wires, etc. 

In spite of these few offerings, there are still circuses - but, these to my mind, are not what we recall from our past or what we historically call the circus. “To everything there is a season….” 

FAREWELL! Glenne        

128 Mother-daughter bond

Debbie Reynolds & Carrie Fisher

A famous mother-daughter duo both passed away within days of each other. Shocking this country and probably the world. A documentary, “Bright Lights,” became available at the same time which sheds so much light on the relationship.

Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher were not the typical run-of-the-mill mother and daughter – both, of course, were famous in their own special ways as actresses, entertainers, singers, dancers. And they never stopped performing even to their dying days.


The bond between the two of them was inspirational as well as unbelievable. Most of us daughters don’t have the opportunity for such a relationship with our moms due to many circumstances. Often distance is a problem as the miles separating us can’t be overcome with a physical presence. Plus immediate family obligations take center stage as they should.


But these two ladies managed to stay co close until both their lives ended abruptly. It seems so tragic but after watching “Bright Lights” about their lives, it seems appropriate. Try to see this program as soon as you can.

The two lives were so intertwined in so many ways, and the son and brother, Todd Fisher, helped to keep them running smoothly in all their many escapades. They even lived next door on the “compound,” as they referred to it. It was a rather quirky place as it was depicted in the documentary which made their lives all the more interesting with historic items from the entertainment world a part of their everyday lives.

I wish I has seen the TV special before their lives ended, but maybe I wouldn’t have paid as much attention until their almost simultaneous deaths. The show added a depth of understanding of why the two were so very close. Both were so talented and so clever that it was a given that they were be revered and mourned after their deaths as they were before.

So many family relationships are depicted as quite the opposite, especially of the famous brand, where mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, and others are estranged and hurl insults and nasty jabs at one another. 

One touching scene was when Carrie was taking care of her father, Eddie Fisher, who had left the family for another actress which made headlines many years before. She was very tender in her care of him even though there had been many difficult times with the family, involving drugs and addiction. Again that shows true love, forgiveness, and understanding of this family.

Debbie and Carrie appeared to say whatever they wanted to each other with a great deal of love and compassion. They didn’t sugar coat their feelings but had them out there for all to see.

It makes me miss my mom and wish I had more time with her to talk, laugh, and share, but my mom left this world in 1998 about this time of year. She was ready to go after an illness that she tried to ignore. There are many times I want to call and ask her about something she knew, and I wish I had paid a little more attention to the details.
I urge all of you if you still have the opportunity, find out all you can from your family members --- they won’t be here some day.

I am reminded of a local mother-daughter duo that were also very close—they ran a local restaurant and lived in the same house. It was very entertaining to see the interaction daily between the two at the local diner. Not sure of their exact ages but they nearing the senior citizen stage. They also died in a short time frame from each other – one in July and the other in September of the same year. There must be something about the bond that affects the life expectancy.

Debbie and Carrie were lucky to have each other every day for so many years in such a close relationship. It is fitting that Debbie followed Carrie in death for she probably could not have survived without her, and it would have been the same for Carrie. 

It is such a loss for the rest of the family especially Carrie’s daughter. Her memories of these two amazing women must sustain her in the days and years to come.

Can you imagine the havoc those two are causing in the afterworld! 

Keep it up ladies.

Frances