Reviews

Did Loss of Elephants Really Doom the Circus?

1/28/2017

Elephants in Big Town

Obscured by other events, “The Circus” recently announced it is going out of business in May.

What circus? To New Yorkers, there is only one – The Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

The Barnum referred to P.T. Barnum, the showman who once observed there is a sucker born every minute. You still hear that quote these days.

Were we suckers, taken to the circus as little kids, and then taking our own little kid, or borrowing somebody else’s kid, to pay homage to lost childhood?

The circus said it is shutting down because people stopped going when the circus had to get out of the elephant business.

I suspect it was more complicated. Little kids can find more esoteric stuff in whatever phone or computer they are packing. Movies have stuff that explodes (but no plots.) Kids can kill thousands of people with a flick of the thumb on a video game. Elephants? Echh.

And young boys don’t need to go to the circus to get a glimpse of a bare thigh or bare shoulder of an exotic-looking acrobat. It’s all out there on the web, and more.

In classic Americana lore, the circus was always there for boys who wanted to run away from home. Today, young people don’t run away to join the circus, they…(supply your own punch line.)

Still, I’m thinking something is lost. One of the first signs of spring in New York was always the photos in the papers (really, do check out these vintage photos) or TV footage of elephants striding through the Queens Midtown Tunnel, en route from their special trains – cooped out by Shea Stadium, how appropriate -- to the supersized elevators in Madison Square Garden. Better than the first robins.

I knew a young hockey writer who told his readers that the Rangers stunk even worse than the elephants in the basement. Great line. Well, except that the circus was still in Norfolk or Charlotte. Henceforth, he was known as the guy who made up elephant shit.

But what about the elephants?
Another great line. It came from the screeching voice of Ted Turner, mad genius of CNN who created the Goodwill Games, primarily between the U.S. and the soft, vulnerable Soviet Union. In 1986.

Ted went to Moscow to pitch environmental sanity. Birds were dying. Fish were dying. Then, Ted would squawk, “But what about the elephants?” (Imagine, a holy fool with a dollop of compassion and knowledge.)

Well-meaning people said the circus was cruel to elephants and the supply system endangered the great beasts. I say poachers were more of a danger. No poachers in Sarasota, their winter quarters, or the depths of the Garden. But it’s a good point.

Elephants are noble beasts. Some are deities. We have a sweet, wise Ganesh in our home. I was once in a taxi in Mumbai that lingered behind a huge elephant carrying stuff.

And on a day off during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, four soccer writers took a day trip to the Pilanesberg preserve and our guide Witek paused at the edge of a path as a family of elephants passed, watchful eyes right, a few yards in front of us. I have loved elephants even more since then. If shutting down the circus helps that family in that preserve, then closure is a good thing.

On May 21, the circus plays its last show a few miles from my home on Long Island. I can’t imagine going. But I reserve the right to feel nostalgic for another time, when we could enjoy elephants (and bare shoulders) in the center of the big city.

Elephant in Preserve/During World Cup 2010

The wild has its dangers -- like lions. Photo: George Vecsey

Jeff Geller

1/28/2017 08:36:07 pm

The end of the circus also signals the possible demise of the Joeys; the clowns who made us laugh. Kelly, Jacobs and the rest of the men and women who delighted us in pie fights seltzer battles and getting out of tiny cars like it was the F Train at Continental Ave. during Rush Hour. Also, what will happen to the famous Clown College? We need more clowns to bring us joy and laughter as opposed to the follies happening around us now.

George Vecsey

1/28/2017 08:54:34 pm

Jeff, you're feeding me the ball and all I've got to do is sink the layup with, "Wait, I thought that guy with the funny hair..." But I would never do a thing like that.
I know that platform well, as an old GG rider into Rego Park and back to 179 each day.
Back when learned clowns and elephants roamed the land.
GV

Hansen Alexander

1/29/2017 12:17:31 pm

Delightful story, George. Going to the circus as a kid was a real thrill, a thrill that will no longer be enjoyed by the children of the future. Sad. But you're memory makes me glad. Thanks.

George Vecsey

1/29/2017 09:37:10 pm

Hansen, thanks, GV

Brian Savin

1/29/2017 07:49:22 pm

I LOVE the circus! I went multiple times to the Garden as a boy. The last time we went in modern times as a family, in the very early 90's I think, there was a strong smell in the tunnel to the parking. It was awful but the kids didn't seem to mind. Elephants. In performance they were wonderful. I also love the Ringling museum in Sarasota. And I love the P.TBarnam museum in Bridgeport. Beautiful and meaningful.
I will miss it terribly. Like the Rodeo where Roy Rogers shook hands with me. These things are so much more important than video games. It is a huge loss to families and growing children sharing common experience with others.

My inlaws had tickets to the Hartford fire show. There was last minute late work on helicopters that made them miss it. There is no end to the meaning of the circus to me. It's loss is personally hard to deal with.

George Vecsey

1/29/2017 09:40:19 pm

Brian, oh, you could smell them -- when they were in the building.
One year the Knicks and Rangers both went deep into the playoffs (94?)-- often forcing circus to cancel a performance, as I recall. Sometimes if there was a wait for the press elevator, we would take the freight elevator -- a bit gamy. And yoiu'd catch a glimpse of circus people in the hallways of that grotesque building, MSG. best, GV

Brian Savin

1/29/2017 10:02:36 pm

I think you are exactly right about the playoff delays, George. We wanted to go but the dates kept changing so we never did. So our last time was a year or two before that. Yeah, you're also right about the smell. The old Garden must have had better ventilation. But there are much better memories of those elephants. And I always loved the routine of how many clowns you can fit in a VW bug. And the cannon shot. And Emmit Kelly. And the Ringmaster negotiating three rings. And, as a boy, the girls, girls girls! They were beautiful!

George Vecsey

1/30/2017 09:31:24 am

Brian, as a young scholastic reporter, I chose to do a column on a few young performers, on the premise that if they were in an American high school, they'd be wrestlers or soccer players or whatever. I loved being backstage. Much less glamour up close. Exotic faces and languages. Roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd, etc. Why I love performers. They gear up. best, GV

Andy Tansey

1/31/2017 07:17:38 am

Dear George:
After a hiatus to deal with other distractions, I have come back to seek thoughts and, perhaps, an opportunity to lend a voice. Here, there are references to soccer, the follies happening around us now, the circus and, of course elephants; and in the previous story, the Grateful Dead.

In an admitted stretch to make connections, motivated by deep dismay at the follies happening around us now, I saw my first circus and best Dead show - 1989 when Branford Marsalis sat in with the band - at the same place, the Nassau Coliseum. Bob Weir loved the analogy of the band to the circus.

For some reason, I am trying to read the entire Bible - Old and New Testaments - and have recently gotten through the Books of Maccabees. The enemy armies were enumerated by numbers of cavalry, camels, foot soldiers and, held in highest awe of all, elephants. In one battle, the slaying of the greatest elephant was a key triumph. We know where all that fighting took place, and it hasn't stopped.

Soccer: How about the play of the US men's Darlington Nagbe, with his refugee background, in Sunday's friendly vs. Serbia?

Sorry for the stretch here, but after a lifetime of sitting on the political sidelines, it is time to speak out against the ignorant and bullying follies happening around us now. However, I bet I am preaching to a choir.
Respectfully, Andy

George Vecsey

1/31/2017 07:44:20 am

Andy: Nice to see your name and thoughts. Hope things are okay.
I'm planning to write about soccer right after the Jamaica match Friday -- oh, maybe touch on Michael Bradley's strong stand after the frolics of last weekend and ongoing. Actually, we have different opinions on this little site. All welcome.
I went to my first Dead concert in the Coliseum. I think Marsalis was there -- although it's a haze. (Went with son. Kid nearby offered me a joint and said, "Want a hit ....sir?" I laughed and declined. )
GV

Alan Rubin link

1/31/2017 05:59:46 pm

There is something magical about seeing an elephant up close.

The first time was as a kid at the old Madison Square Garden with all its smells downstairs. I convinced my parents to take my older sister and I several more times. Years later Sandi and I took our kids.

I was twelve when I attended a small 1-ring circus near Fort Belvoir, VA. My relative was a career army officer and a major when he was stationed there.

My cousin and I took the train for a two week visit in 1946. They lived on the periphery of the base and we got to see many of its activities.

My relative was furious when he learned that we had been given a ride in a tank.

One evening we attended a one-ring circus. Initially, I was disappointed, but I quickly began to appreciate its intimacy. We were able to see everything up close and how hard the performers were working. The man who slid down a wire from the top of the tent pole seemed to be heading right towards us. And the one elephant seemed enormous.

Years later we took our Madison, WI grandchildren to the Circus World Museum in Baraboo near the Wisconsin Dells. The museum celebrates about 200 years of the Ringling Brothers winter headquarters.

Sandi and I were in southern Africa for three weeks in the spring of 2008. Two weeks of safari in the bush were equally divided among Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia. Our guide for the trip was from Zimbabwe, so we received a personal insight to the politics and culture of his country.

This was six weeks before President Magabe STOLE the election. Everyone was so excited that he would be defeated. Once the election results were delayed, we knew that he would remain as president.

We thought about the bright-eyed school children who had talked about their dreams. All of their teachers had been on strike as they had not been paid for a year. We were shown around by the principal, who went from class to class to check on the students, all of whom were well behaved. They were in school to be occupied during the day and to receive a free meal, the only one of the day for many of them.

Our time in the bush was one of the most unusual experiences in all of our travels. We saw a wonderful culture with remarkable people up close. They helped us appreciate the beauty of the wild life.

We were eight to a land rover and often within a few feet of the animals. We were face to with an elephant our first morning out. He stood there just looking at us for a while before calmly moving on. We thought that the excitement of being in the bush would wear off after a few days, but it only continued to increase.

It was wonderful to see all the animals, but the elephants were the most remarkable.

They were massive and yet moved with a silent grace. We also gained a respect for their intelligence.

While we were watching an elephant in the distance, he knocked down a tree, then another and another. Our guide said that he was showing off and would not stop until we looked away. We did not believe him, but that is exactly what happened.

As a kid, I was skeptical that Indians in the movies could track things. I became a believer watching our guides examine foot prints and explain how long ago they had been made.

We met two explorers from New Zealand who had just spent two months in the bush. They said that the Bushmen were the best trackers in the world.

Elephant poaching was a problem then as now. Zambia rangers were instructed to shoot to kill anyone with a rifle and no authority to be there, no questions asked.

Elephants near the periphery of game preserves tend to be dangerous since they have experienced members of the herd being killed.

Elephants never forget.

George Vecsey

1/31/2017 07:41:54 pm

Alan, the Big Apple Circus in Lincoln Center was very sweet. We took our grandkids.
Last time I saw elephants was in Hershey, PA, with grandson and his dad. Afterward, the roustabouts ran the little elephants into their van/cages. They were moving fast going down the chute...right in front of us...very sweet. But the training that went into that obedience? As I say, I respect those who stick up for the elephants. GV

Alan Rubin link

2/2/2017 03:24:58 pm

The woman who promoted the Big Apple Circus at MSG was a customer in my store. It was always a joy to discuss things with her when they were in town.

Roy Edelsack

2/1/2017 02:15:16 pm

1- Joe Christopher-He wore #24 and as a kid I used to squint at the TV and make believe we had Willie Mays. Of course the irony was that when we finally got the old Mays he wasn't as good as the young Christopher.

2-Grateful Dead-At the old Cafe Au Go Go I once urinated next to Pigpen. When I told my Dad he said, "That's nothing. At Pietro's Steakhouse I peed next to Victor Mature." Game, set, and match to Dad.

3-Circus-At the old Garden, once the circus was installed the Knicks and Rangers were out in the cold. In 1959 my favorite Knick team (Sears, Naulls, Felix, Guerin, Braun, etc.) actually made the playoffs but had to play the Syracuse Nats at the Armory in the first game of a 2-out-of-3 series. Lacking home court they lost 129-123 and then went up to Syracuse and got eliminated at the War Memorial by the unstoppable Dolph Schayes. As an 11 year-old I was crushed by the unfairness and vowed never to go to the circus, ever. (An oath later broken when I had kids of my own.)

George Vecsey

2/2/2017 12:13:06 pm

Roy: Thanks. 1- I will tell Joe that next time I call him. 2- One of my great editors at NYT carried paper to urinal, to read one-handed and maybe avoid shop talk. 3- Great fights in Saturday afternoon games at Armory. Gallatin-Sweetwater-Simmons taking on Nats or Royals.

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Did Loss of Elephants Really Doom the Circus?

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