I guess the Greatest Show on Earth will be in Washington now.

    Two days ago, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced that its spring tour will be the last.  Here's the website announcement:

Feld Entertainment Announces Final Performances of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^® Circus in May 2017

Ellenton, Fla. – January 14, 2017 – Feld Entertainment Inc., parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^® and the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment, announced today that the iconic 146-year-old circus would hold its final performances later this year. Ringling Bros.^®’ two circus units will conclude their tours with their final shows at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I., on May 7, and at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on May 21, 2017.

The decision to end the circus tours was made as a result of high costs coupled with a decline in ticket sales, making the circus an unsustainable business for the company. Following the transition of the elephants off the circus, the company saw a decline in ticket sales greater than could have been anticipated.

“Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey was the original property on which we built Feld Entertainment into a global producer of live entertainment over the past 50 years,” said Kenneth Feld, Chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment. “We are grateful to the hundreds of millions of fans who have experienced Ringling Bros. over the years. Between now and May, we will give them one last chance to experience the joy and wonder of Ringling Bros.”

“This was a difficult business decision to make, but by ending the circus tours, we will be able to concentrate on the other lines of business within the Feld Entertainment portfolio,” said Juliette Feld, Feld Entertainment’s Chief Operating Officer. “Now that we have made this decision, as a company, and as a family, we will strive to support our circus performers and crew in making the transition to new opportunities,” she added.

Feld Entertainment’s portfolio includes Marvel Universe LIVE!, Monster Jam, Monster Energy Supercross and Disney On Ice, among others. The company recently announced a new partnership to produce live tours of Sesame Street and expanded television coverage for the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross races.

For me, this news triggered a rush of reflections and memories.  In the former category, I place P.T. Barnum's observation that "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the intelligence of the American public."  (Some credit the great journalist H. L. Mencken with the statement, but I'm in the camp that gives the honor to the equally great Mr. Barnum,)  

Either way, the statement certainly must resonate with Donald Trump.  Wouldn't he make a fine ringmaster in a red coat and top hat?  Certainly we can expect the Barnum tradition to continue in the three-ring circus (White House, Congress, Supreme Court) that will be perform in Washington (DC) for the next four (please,  pray God... not eight) years.

In the latter category are many wonderful memories of taking the kids to the circus, which has come annually to Philadelphia.  These memories are easy to sustain, because down in our foyer we have a photo of Marc and Claire --- ages 10 and six, or something like that --- in the clown costumes they were allowed to try on... part of the pre-show exhibits, fun and games that were a standard part of the experienceof going to the Greatest Show on Earth.

I note that the company says in its announcement that the retirement of the elephants contributed significantly to the decline in ticket sales.  Ah, yes... animal rights.  I have written about animal-rights activists in both a journal article and my self-published novel.  You can read what I think in those writings.

Suffice to add only that in our brave new world of CGI and virtual reality, the circus --- like all live theater, only more so --- is an anchor to the real world of flesh-and-blood people and other beasties, pushing their skills and talents to their physical limits... real feats providing real thrills.  So the elephants get to graze until they die.  Being one who refuses to retire until forced by health failure, I feel rather bad for the brutes... are you animal-rights advocates so very sure those elephants aren't missing the excitement and applause?  How arrogant of you, if so!

We have come loose from our moorings to that real world and drift farther and farther from it all the time.  With a president who tweets his hour-to-hour impulses inaugurated as national ring master, the Greatest Show on Earth is certain to achieve an unprecedented level of unreality.