When the circus came to town
I wonder if other fairy tales leave as much collateral damage in their wakes. Today is C-Day, and the C may stand for Cinderella, or Caligula, or Celine, according to your interpretation. The whole city has been “stood on its ear”, which might be a tribute to the quality of the musical talent, or a tongue in cheek reference to the way that this oversized village handles fame and fortune (as reflected in the flow of traffic).
The preparations have been ongoing, and going on, for months. The skillful way that the tickets (free) for the show tonight were distributed: lotteries, lines, even eBay sales for those that must pay for everything. I didn’t seek them, but they were offered (and gently declined; let someone more willing have them). The decision on a venue, which required that the largest national parkland in the area serve as a containment area for an estimated two hundred thousand souls, was handled more by hubris than anything else. You see, Sir Paul came through a few weeks ago, and this show had to surpass that one in every way.
One of our offices was empty to avoid the stress. In fact, all of our local offices were just about empty, (but that could have been due to the nice weather) as people found alternative routes around, well, everywhere. By the time we made it to the university campus for our daily change of bus drivers, there was a veritable river of people headed in the direction of the Plains, where they soon joined the lake of bodies pressed together for the start of the show. Traffic is snarled, and I’m home later than necessary on a hot summer day.
There’s been TV coverage through the evening, and C is actually here. Not a hologram produced in a set design studio in Vegas. The rumours of other stars coming through, Sir Elton (Reginald to his mom) at the head of the list, seem unfounded, unless he dressed incognito. And the lake of bodies, illuminated by sweeping spotlights, gave me reassurance that I’d made the right decision. I’m a stay-at-home person, and the show will be up on YouTube within hours. Not that I’d watch; fairy tales are best left between the covers.
