i don’t remember the last time i had been to a circus but i remember watching magic shows as a kid and being completely awed. i had a paul daniels magic kit at home and would make hamfisted attempts at the tricks but only ever mastered one or two. my dad encouraged this love of awe in something i knew wasn’t real. he refused to ever tell me the secret to a trick choosing instead to ask me to think about how it might be done. i look forward to the day he can take his grandchild to a magic show and smile at the innocent awe, that kid is in for some fun!
this time i went to the circus with the family i’ve been working for recently and their youngsters were on the edge of their seats throughout the show. it was a small town traveling circus, the guy who would later come out and do fantastic acrobatics from a rope at the top of the tent dropped his diablo multiple times in the first act. the clown was an old guy who had his act down pat and seemed to genuinely enjoy doing it. the fire breather who did the finale appeared in various other incarnations prior to his impressive finishing act.
the magic was well rehearsed and pulled off impressively and without a hitch by two young girls. the smaller children with us didn’t really get the magic but the three year old watched open mouthed. how was the girl not severed by the swords pushed into the box? how did the audience member asked to participate disappear? i remember when those tricks seemed so completely impossible to me too, the misdirection, the slight of hand, not yet something i could possibly comprehend let alone figure out. and all the adults smiling and sharing indulgent “wow!”s and “how did she do that?!”s. that’s the magic of childhood at work right there.
