The Circus

[Guest guest]

The Circus

A Story by: Dan Clark

 

Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to

buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between

the ticket counter and us. This family made a big impression on me.

There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could

tell they did not have a lot of money. Their clothes were not

expensive, but they were clean. The children were well behaved, all of

them standing in line, two-by- two behind their parents, holding

hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, elephants and

other acts they would see that night. One could sense they had never

been to the circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their

young lives.

 

The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as

could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him

as if to say, " You are my knight in shining armor. " He was smiling and

basking in pride, looking at her as if to reply, " You got that right. "

 

The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He

proudly responded, " Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two

adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus. "

 

The ticket lady quoted the price.

 

The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip

began to quiver. The father leaned a little closer and asked, " How

much did you say? "

 

The ticket lady again quoted the price.

 

The man did not have enough money.

 

How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he did not

have enough money to take them to the circus?

 

Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, pulled

out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in

any sense of the word!) My father reached down, picked up the bill,

tapped the man on the shoulder and said, " Excuse me, Sir, this fell

out of your pocket. "

 

The man knew what was going on. He was not begging for a handout but

certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking,

embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my

dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and

with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he

replied, " Thank you, thank you, Sir. This really means a lot to me and

my family. "

 

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We did not go to

the circus that night, but we did not go without.