Circus Ali Baba   

the most foolish circus I have ever seen

When I returned home after the first season together with Circus Aldoni, in September 1987, there were 3 circuses nearby. So I went to see them.

Comeback to the Circus Barum which played at Schwäbisch Gmünd. Meeting my friend Liswoy Bratuscin. He showed me his 3 year old little daughter on her pony with an incredible perfect Russian riding show. But she had no chance to go in show because Gerd Siemnoneit was jealous that she could be better than his own daughter Rebecca.

At Urbach the Circus Aramannt was playing, a family circus from Berlin, about which I had heard from circus insiders to be very good.

In the smallest villages there was a very poor small circus with the foolish name "Circus Ali Baba". Just the posters seemed to bring some bad surprises. And this name Ali Baba. But his 40 friends were only three. So that Circus Aldoni seemed to be a great circus.

My stomach began to move when I was sitting in that small old, broken and dirty tent. I began to count the visitors. With 98 persons the tent was full. The podium so small, with 2 masts in it, that it was only an optical illusion. Only once a small pony entered for the old joke with children and their hats. A very big billy goat, evil smelling came to a podest to show his art as a good scholar, answering with its head „Yes" and „NO" and counted numbers with the feet to the questions of the director. Then the director showed eating fire, near him his first lady. And an old round lady showed her doves. But none of these tricks were perfect. The helpers for the props were a crazy old couple of loving people.

It was a shame to try visitors with this nonsense and to ask money for a ticket. I was angry and I wanted to get up and go. But then an unexpected surprise came: a little 7 year old boy threw knives to a teddy bear and then to his 5 year old sister. Sure and absolutely perfect from a respectable distance. This little boy was a really great talent, better than all others I had seen throwing knives.

At last the old round Madame tried to make the audience applaud. Curiously she waited for me. „What? Painter?" she invited me for a cup of coffee in her living-car, if I wanted or not. Please, paint something beautiful for our entry car, we pay well!

Nothing else? Those were things I knew so well! You can go to hell. Full of anger I hurried home.

At night I could not sleep, full of thoughts. Finally I got it. That’s it. I remembered a book.

I searched and found that book and I found the page. „Einmal Deutschland umsonst" was a bestseller in Germany, written by a brave reporter, who wandered on foot and without money together with his dog all over Germany, where he was just in this circus, working one day for a plate of badly prepared spaghetti. In this book he wrote about this circus exactly what I had seen. There were only some small differences: at his times they had a big tent with four masts, they had 2 dromedars, the whole „show" was going wrong, only the doves of a round old insisting Lady and the sensation: an old man lancing knives to a person on a plate moving around. Its name was Circus Leonhard.

It was this crazy story in this extraordinary book, it was the crazy, absurd adventure, which made me run to the circus the next day. They did all, to hold me. The beauty of street was commanded to enjoy me, she made nice eyes to me. When the show was over I was invited to eat and to drink together with them a bottle of wodka.

Yes, they were the former Circus Leonhard, the husband of the Lady, now dead. She came from the famous circus Brumbach. Full of pride she showed me a photo as child sitting on the knees of Führer Adolf Hitler. Now she owns a big farm in Bavaria. When the bottle of wodka was empty, they knew all about me. In the end I was engaged: not only for painting the cash car, but also as the star of the circus with my horses and as clown.

After all the trouble and hardest work with advertising, in the stables and mounting tents at Circus Aldoni, I had the illusion to be a circus star now. Only without the pockets full of money.

I had to do nothing else than being the star of arena. I had to arrive with my Ford Transit, my horses and instruments, to prepare my dress and the horses for being ready to start the show. After the show we made a feast, emptying some bottles.

It was always near my home, once 2, once 4, once 8 km to go.

The alternative newspaper invited me for a satiric drawing publication about the art festival at Schwäbisch Gmünd.

My satiric drawings were a great success for the newspaper, and the victims of my satiric aggressions were boiling with anger. As an answer for thanking me, the newspaper sent a photo reporter to the Circus Ali Baba, making for me big publicity, so I was well-known. All my friends hurried to see me in circus arena, where I could present also some new tricks which I had just taught to my horses.

But the problem was this "nothing" of circus arena. Too small, with those 2 masts We moved them, but now the horses had to be careful not to run against them with their heads. I was extremely preoccupied. But my brave, intelligent horses didn’t touch. But then I didn’t want to take any more risks for my horses. My presentations as a clown seemed enough to me. Together with father and children I invented a new and nice foolish scene.

And then came the big visit to the Circus, all people of family Brumbach with big autotrains. A whole Lunapark with caroussels, riding arena, shooting bar and so on. Now the place was full like a very big and great Circus. It seemed to be all that 40 friends of good old Ali Baba. Now the big old Lady wanted me to be her companion, playing the clown and helping her at school in the wintertime. „You can sleep with me, I have an own farm with a nice house" She became always more friendly, when she could see me. When I was passing the director, she whispered to me "That’s no circus man, that’s a damned private person."

In every show the director brought his case with props for his master show, eating fire, with his first lady as the lovely partner. But the fire attraction did not happen when she had a headache. Most of the times she had one, and now when I came to the arena she didn’t have any headache any more.

One day it happened that I visited the circus, riding on horseback to near Spraitbach. Big old round Lady ran to invite me in her living car, offering a cup of coffee and giving me three wonderful fishes (trouts) as a present, just prepared ready to eat. A present of a circus! Never heard. At home the fishes were really very good to eat.

But not only at the Lady, at every living car on the place they were preparing fish. All the 40 friends of Ali baba were enjoying good fishes. Al they were boiling.

At Circus place boiling fishes, my friend Paul in the deep forest not boiling fish, but boiling with fury. Paul was the owner of a nice and rich fish lake, in some years of plenty of works the lake was full of the best fishes (trouts)

When he was outside, two boys of caroussel-people asked for fishing only one little fish, some visitors of Paul gave the permission for that only one little, little fish for poor little circus boys.

When Paul came home, the lake was totally empty! Not only one little fish, but more than 100 best fishes. When I knew this, I went to the circus and organized free entry for all of Paul’s friends, to pay in this way the stolen fish. And they came to the circus, more than 30 children and parents. Round old Lady at the cash, she made a face like eating shit, and I hoped, she would learn this lesson.

5 years later, January of 1992 I was in the market place of Schwäbisch Gmünd in the dark evening. There was a man with a monkey, begging for money for a poor circus. I asked him for the name of the circus. Another man came and greeted me. „Oh, the painter Jachino!" It was that director of Circus Ali Baba, now named Circus Brazil. We went to drink together a bottle of beer. After that we met the knife - lancing son, now grown up to a nice young man. They invited me to come to their winter place near the town. There, the daughter, now a beautiful girl, welcomed me with happiness. Only the two ladies were not happy. Full of pride father and son showed me the new used tent, 4 nice ponies and a video. The ponies were working well and then the sensation: the son lancing knifes to his sister on a round moving plate. Now I hope, they will have great success.