carnival memories

There are so many things i remember about the past carnivals that i have been to,the sights,the midway,the smell of hotdogs and cotton candy and ferris wheel rides with my childhood sweethearts,but i think that the one that keeps coming back to me is the one i went to when i was eight years old.
There had been posters stuck on all the telephone poles along our road for weeks,advertizing the advent of "THE GREAT ROBINNIS MIDWAY" with attendant ads of "THE WILDMAN OF BORNEO" the most stupendous discovery of modern science!
I remember that i had been reading the Tarzan novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and i was very
much in great expectation of seeing this wildman!Just imagine it,a real wildman,raised by the great orangatans of that far off island.Of course i didn't quiet know the difference between a great ape, a chimpanzee and a gorilla,but i was beside myself with excitement.
When the carnival arrived and opened,i could hear the music of the calliope from my front yard,likewise the great angry roar of "THE WILDMAN FROM BORNEO" being taunted by the locals and i remember that i felt very sorry for that caged creature so far from his home and among unkind strangers.I could hear the cruel laughter
of the people as they viewd what they considered to be a monster (i had also just seen the movie KING KONG featuring Fay Wray )
Finally the great day arrived,my Dad came home from work,it was friday and we were off to the carnival!I could hardly contain my excitement! I was going to see THE WILDMAN FROM BORNEO!
Upon our arrival,my Dad and i proceeded to the hotdog stand,then we each got a great fluffy ball of cotton candy,visited a few of the games (ahem)(my Dad liked the little racing mice game particularly well)throughout all the excitement of being at the carnival,the crowds,the hurley gurley sounds of the midway,the carney hawkers and shill games,the one thought in my eight year old mind was THE WILDMAN FROM BORNEO!I finally coaxed my Dad into the right direction,and i almost outran him in my eagerness to get to see this wild and exotic creature,we paid our fare and finally we were allowed up the ramp to view THE WILDMAN FROM BORNEO!He was in a large enclosed cage,well below the viewing platform,there were a number of large snakes (seemingly comatose even to me) and a few chickens running around free within the enclosure,the chickens seemed unaware that they were in close proximity to THE WILDMAN FROM BORNEO! and i remember fearing for their safety,for might not a WILDMAN FROM BORNEO! catch an unwary fowl and devour it? I had expected a WILDMAN FROM BORNEO! and i was not disappointed,he roared and growled and made all sorts of grunts and groans,he chased the chickens,he wallowed with the snakes,he jumped up at the visitors,seemingly almost catching a few by their ankles,almost but not quiet,his hair was matted and unkempt,he wore the most tattered and dirty apron around his waist that i had ever seen,he had an unshaven beard of three or four months.He was,in fact,the wildest man i had ever seen!We,my Dad and i were the last visitors on the platform,and even i was getting sort of bored with watching THE WILDMAN FROM BORNEO! chase the chickens and wallow with the snakes,as i turned for one last look,i saw THE WILDMAN FROM BORNEO glance furtivly up at the platform,he gave me a sheepish grin,and in perfectly understandable english,spoke to my Dad,he said "Hey Bo,is there a train or bus station near this place?this gig is getting old and i need to go back to Chicago."i was flabergasted!i was suprized!i was disapointed! but most of all i was happy,i was happy that THE WILDMAN FROM BORNEO! wasn't wild,the chickens were not in danger of being eaten alive and finally i was happy that i had been taken in,i fully appreciated the great joke that had been played on all those people that had not had the opportunity to hear THE WILDMAN FROM BORNEO! ask my Dad about a train or bus station and i was glad that they would not be angry at him for playing that joke also.This was the best carnival that i have ever been to and one of my fondest memories.I still smile when i think of THE WILDMAN FROM BORNEO!on that long ago day at the carnival.

Story ID:	2744
Written by:	Bobby O'neill Mitchum (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Family Memories
Writers Conference:	$500 2007 Family Memories Writing Project
Location:	Phenix City Alabama U.S.A.
Year:	2007
Person:	SELF