Ray’s T for the D - The Carny Life fer Me

Yet here am I, back home. Turns out, the duck pool eventually closes down for the night so all the ducks can rest up.

Meet my new pal Arth. Arth is Welsh for bear. Or in Pig Latin, Artha.

At the carnival, Artha is a big attraction. His profession, or gig, is wrestling. Or was. Now Artha has decided to run away from the carnival. That’s a switch. Say Artha. Why have you decided to forego your lucrative wrestling career at last?

Well Ray, I got tired of the same old routine, traveling from town to town, village to village, hamlet to hamlet. Each one of those municipalities has a local bear wrestling champion. My job was to wrestle, actually, stand up on my hind legs and waltz around with the local hick bear wrestler. Yet I can tell you now Ray, those matches were rigged. I had to wear a muzzle, plus paw gloves. Then too, if I was actually getting my opponent in trouble, the responsible parties at ringside shot me with a tranquilizer dart.

The worst of it was the post match photo op. There I would be, a hick sitting on top of me, the local dignitaries from the Chamber of Commerce and their lady friends crowding around, mugging for the camera. So, at last, despite the three squares a day and the opportunity to travel, I decided to pack it in.

Whoa! That’s fairly bad. Did the ladies at least feel sorry for you, Artha?

Maybe Ray. But a lot of good that did me. So I ran off.

Er Artha. I really like the carnival duck pond. The fact is, I like it so much, I may run away myself, and join the carnival.

Yer too late, Ray. The carnival has left town.

Dang! Well, maybe next year. Meantime, it is back to work, here at the venue. As everyone knows, I have been attempting to ignore current events. However, the crackdown on the polygamists has caught my attention. Why, those articles in the newspaper pertaining to the polygamists even contain useful information, like the correct phonetics of Eldor-ay-do.

I have wrestled there Ray. Eldor-ay-do is on the carnival circuit.

What’s it like, Artha?

Well Ray, Eldor-ay-do is where the carny boss got the idea for the duck pond.

Er. OK. I can see that. But now, alas, those good times are all gone. What made those polygamists think they could practice their religion, freely, in the ROT, in the first place? Didn’t they know it is illegal, in these parts, for young ladies to marry before they turn sweet sixteen, even if they are pubescent before that important birthday? What is your informed opinion on all that Artha?

Well Ray, I don’t care. The fact is, bears in general, don’t care about the news. That’s right. Despite what you may have heard elsewhere, there is no such thing as a care bear.

All righty then, Artha. If you want a new job then, you can be my assistant here on the venue. What you can do is go over the news stories. Then, once you give the stories the once over, you can pass the ones you care about on to me. You should be able to do that. Right?

I’ll think about it, Ray.