Blind Woman's Trip to the Circus

WARNING! This blog may contain cinnisism
The smells of popcorn and cotton candy thick in the air, I walked along with my 3-year-old, Faith and my mom toward our seats in the Charleston Civic Center. We were in the balcony, only 5 rows back. My biggest concern was if Faith could see, but it turned out I didn't have to worry at all; she sat on someone's lap most of the time we were there.

I hadn't been to the circus since I was a little girl, and so I didn't really know what to expect, but as it turns out, some things never change. While we waited, someone was walking all around calling out, "Lemonade!" Now, he may have been a clown, but I don't know and I didn't ask.

So, the circus starts, and the music begins. There's a sense of excitement in the air that no one could miss, and I was no exception.

Let me ask you something. What do you do when yu can't see what is going on, but you know something is, and you don't know what is so funny? Do you lean toward the person beside you and ask, "What's going on?" Or, do you concentrate with all your being, trying to figure it out for yourself? Well, asking isn't a problem, but hearing is. In all that big band music and the ring master yelling and the people talking, your friend beside you might not hear the question. If they do, you might not hear the answer. So, I just concentrated and tried to figure it out from what the ring master was saying and from the sounds of the music. I'd say I missed a whole lot!

When the ring master sings about flying in the clouds, I assume the woman he's singing about is up on the high wire. When I heard the sounds of motorcycles and the ring master sang about going up and up, I assume they're riding them on the high wire. I did ask my sister, at one point, and she tried to describe it, but what with all that noise and Faith talking a mile a minute, I gave up. Anyway, back to my interpretation.

There was a time without music, where the clown and ring master talked, and I figured out a lot of what was going on by what was said. Then came the music again. Now, don't get me wrong, I love music, but honestly, I felt like a blind and deaf person in there, most of the time. I will say that I figured out they had little ponies in the ring, wen they played that "My Little Pony" song.

They had an intermission, when Mom's friend went to get drinks and my sister took Faith to the bathroom, but soon, the music began again, and the struggle for me began again. At this point, Faith starts getting n to it a little bit, and she's jumping up and down saying, "Mommy there's penguins! There's penguins!" Thank goodness for Faith's eyes and mouth that never stop. lol Then, there was the lion, but after that, she sat on someone's lap and left me to fend for myself. Not her fault, but it got a little boring after that.

There was a man who did 3 sumersalts (not spelled right) in the air, but it wasn't until after the show that I learned what a sumersalt was.

And so, the show ends, we make our way surprisingly easily out of the place and walk to the Town Center Malls' parking garage. We went through a drivethrough and got a bite to eat, then came home.

One thing I was surprised about was that Faith never asked for a thing. I had brought money, intending to buy one of those lights, but she never asked for one. I'm glad; they were $22 this year and one for her and one for her sister would have been $44.

When I was a kid, I once had the opportunity to listen to headphones during the circus, with someone describing it, but who wants to put on headphones and miss all that music? Not me! Then, when I was about 12, they took us to meet some circus performers, before the show. That was more interesting than anything. I remember feeding peanuts to an elephant, feeling a clown's shoes, and talking with the performers about working for the circus. But all inall, a circus is not a place for someone who is blind. Would I go again? If that's what my girls want, I will. At least, I'll take them while they are small. In a couple of years, they will be a fountain of information, when it comes to describing things; they won't be able to help it. Kids will tell you more about something, just by saying whatever is on their minds.

Now, to end this blog, let me add something. When we were on the way home, i asked my mom, "So, are the performers mostly young?"

"Yes," she said.

"I'll bet they are built, too...the guys, I mean."

"Oh yeah," she said.

"And, what do they ware, mostly?"

"Not a whole lot," was her answer.

To defend those trapese artists, I said, "Well, if they had a lot of clothing on, they wouldn't be able to do 3 sumersalts in the air, the weight, I would think, would make it almost impossible."

But, maybe not seeing isn't such a bad thing.