circus

What do you do when you're an elephant and it's time to retire? If you're an elephant with a Missouri circus, the answer apparently is "roam the land" and no, I'm not kidding.

If you weren't convinced that life was different back in 1950, I can prove how different it was with a vintage film showing a wild circus of performing chimps that happened in the St. Louis Zoo.

When you think of clowns, the hope is that you'll associate that with laughter and happiness. In the case of the Illinois clown graveyard, the opposite is true. It's the story of a tragedy that took the lives of 86 entertainers late at night on June 22, 1918.

The elephants are looking forward to their spa day at the Quincy Mall. The Carson and Barnes Circus runs Saturday, September 5, through Monday, September 7, sponsored by Kiwanis Club of Quincy.

I am not a fan of the circus. If you've seen one elephant jump through a flaming hoop held by iguanas...you've seen them all. If I want to see animals, I know plenty of farmers that can show me what they've got.