The Circus

 

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 us and the ticket
counter. This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all
probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn't 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're 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 didn't have enough money.

How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't 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 wasn't 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 didn't go to the circus
that night, but we didn't go without.

Dan Clark
"A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul"