Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus museum

Circus wagons are just part of the display at the Circus Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus will present their final performance at the end of May. If you’ve missed the circus this year or just want a further circus experience, visit the museum. The wagons are colorful and feature elaborate designs such as those pictured. Check out the column Angles and Cue on the bottom of page to learn more about the museum. Photos by Carolyn Schwartz.

That Soothing Sound

January brought us so many rainy days that some people were almost praying for snow. Others were giving thanks that the precipitation was just rain. Those dreary days required indoor lighting which did little to drive the gloom out of the corners on the rooms.

A trip outside required a jacket or raincoat to repeal the precipitation. Then there were damp clothes with which to deal. To cross the squishy yard, we needed adequate footwear as we returned Christmas decorations to the outbuilding or got the trash ready for pickup day.

Next problem - tracking in from that outdoor trip. Even rugs at each entrance can’t control all the moisture on the soles of our shoes. Thus - tracks across the wooden floors! If rain is predicted for several days in a row, I don’t try to mop those floors. It is a futile job.

One evening when I went to bed, I could hear the rain drops hitting the windows in the room. I was reminded of hearing the rain on the tin roof of my grandparents’ country home. That was true at nights or on days when the rain kept me indoors but on one of the two screened-in porches.

There is something soothing and sleep-inducing about rain on a tin roof or rain hitting the windowpane (minus the wind, thunder and lightning, of course).

As children, we played in the rain. We were usually barefooted so no shoes were ruined. Our clothes were simple and not expensive, so no one admonished us for getting damp or soaked. We weren’t worried about our hair, either. Stomping in puddles and wading the creek after a rainfall were favorite activities.

Have you seen the commercial about the grandmother and her grandchildren who are going outside to ride bikes? When they open the garage door, it is raining, pouring. A secret look passes between them, and the next scene shows them, raincoats and boots on, playing in the rain and splashing in the puddles.

What a wonderful solution to an unexpected setback!

I don’t enjoy doing much of anything in the rain today. Wet hair, squishy shoes, clinging damp clothes - not one of my favorite “feels.”

I’d much rather just listen to the rain on the roof.