The circus comes to town.

The Orfei circus is in town. And I know one thing. Wouldn’t want to be the guy in charge. Looks to me like it’s an overwhelming job. Setting it all up.  Hauling everything in. From mainland Italy. By ferry, I assume. And by truck. And then erecting the huge circus tents. Getting everybody ready to perform. Including the animals. For two nights now, I’ve seen circus animals grazing along the roadside. In the heavy-traffic heart of Carbonia. Elephants. Camels. A giraffe. Real traffic stoppers. I could have walked up and petted them. As some of the locals did. I stood back. And gawked. Wonder how many employees. And what possesses anyone to want to be part of a circus. As a performer. Or a laborer. Tending to the animals, for instance. That’s gotta be a mammoth task. Feeding ‘em. Cleaning up the poop. And transporting everything to the next city. Tearing everything down after a 5-day stay in Carbonia.   Orfei is the symbol of circus in Italy. Been operating since 1960. And shows up in Carbonia every winter. –Jim Broede