When we were growing up in New York City, two kinds of circuses came to town. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus arrived at the same time each year in a flurry of spectacle so big that it shut down one of the under-river tunnels leading into Manhattan for a parade of animals into Madison Square Garden. In the days before anyone worried about animal rights, this three-ring extravaganza was truly exciting. more ›