Tonight, the three of us went to the Circus.
Yes, it was billed as "The Greatest Show on Earth!".
We were part of the Girl Scout seating, which of course, was filled with other Girl Scouts, Brownies and Daisies and their siblings and families. It was a very excited group; who wouldn't be thrilled to be at the Circus?!?!
(Except for maybe my sweet husband who paid for the tickets, the outrageous parking, and bought two hot dogs, a soda and a snow cone in an elephant cup.....honestly, you don't want to know the cost of that!)
Emma and i were excited too. This was my very first trip to the Circus, too.
It's no secret that i adore elephants. I'm not sure why, but i have always been drawn to these stunning animals.
And tonight, i was going to see elephants up close!!
As the show started, it was so very cool to see and hear how excited all of the kids and adults were who were sitting around us. From the youngest to the oldest, we were all very excited.
It really was a fun show.
The Magicians were hysterical with their bunnies.
The Poodles and their trainers were awesome.
The tigers were so cool.
The horses were cool with their tricks.
The acrobats were so breath-taking to watch.
The clowns were silly and funny.
The Elephants?
Tragically intoxicating to watch.....and then sadly, the elephants brought tears to my eyes.
The Elephants were a big "i-can't-wait-to-see-them!" event for everyone.
Even me.
But as i watched the Elephants go thru their routine, i became sad. I wanted more for those big, beautiful creatures.
I wanted to wish them to a place in Thailand called The Elephant Nature Park, which is run by an amazing woman named Lek Chailert who founded Save the Elephant Foundation.
The Elephant Nature Park is for Elephants who have had lives that haven't been the best for them. The Elephants may have been used for logging, for entertainment, or mistreated at the hand of humans.
I wanted the Elephants in The Greatest Show on Earth to have a home there, with other Elephants, to be able to be, well, just Elephants.
The thing is, watching the children, i could see how delighted they were in seeing these majestic creatures. These children were able to see how majestic these large beautiful creatures were....and how intelligent they were.
And yes, i did think the same thoughts when i saw the tigers.....
How can you instill a love of animals like these without having them be in a Circus?
I don't have answers and i'm not into making this into a debate just yet.....
I just know that last night, i dreamed of taking these beautiful Elephants to Lek's Park....and letting them just be Elephants.
