h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

January is an ordeal. After the busy Christmas season, there is suddenly nothing to really prepare for, except maybe the tax season (Do you look forward to paying taxes? Me neither!). I always plant seeds in little pots on my windowsill in March or April, but January is too early. I don't want the plants to come up in February and get long stems because there isn't yet enough light.

Mornings are nice, because I get sun exposure at the front of my house. By three p.m., the day is already almost over, which is depressing.

Sometimes I drive to a Mall that has Rainforest cafe. If I eat lunch there, I can pretend I'm in a tropical forest. It's good for an hour or so.

Or, there's always a movie set in Spring or Summer. The last scene in "Mary Poppins Returns" features a festival in a sunny park, complete with balloons and a song by Angela Lansbury. "There's nowhere to go but up" is the title. it's literally lighter than air, as the balloons pull dozens of people up into the sky. They all seem to be happy, which I appreciate a lot.

Another option would be to borrow a DVD of "South pacific" and play it. Or perhaps "Epic," which takes places in a delightful forest peopled by enchanted beings. I have my eye on "Wonder Park," which arrives here on Mach 15. Too long to wait, but maybe I can enjoy the summery trailers.

I wish we could go directly from mid-January into Spring, but that'
s noti n the cards.

Play some reggae music or perhaps the "Morning" from Peer Gynt

Thanks for the suggestions.

Right now I'm planning to run away and join the circus. I remember some happy hours spent when the circus used to come to Fuller Field in Clinton, Mass.

That circus is probably long defunct. The counry's biggest and most famous circus closed down for good last
year:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/01/14/ringling-bros-circus-close-after-146-years/96606820/

My only option is to live in memories or movie scenes.

First off, this is a circus I do *not* to be involved with:
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-end-of-the-world/

I can live without elephants and tigers and dancing bears, but there's no joy in contemplating nothing at all.

I would, however, be happy to contemplate this lovely lady:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4zRe_wvJw8

She ruled the roost in this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031060/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3

Come back for my next post, where there will be more stuff and nonsense.

Then there was Jumbo, an elephant who starred in a musical in the Hippodrome Theater on Broadway in 1935. Richard Rodgers and larry Hart wrote the songs, with a book by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. No, I'm not familiar with the latter either. But Rodgers and Hart continue to be performed, though not as much as they were in the 1930s.

Jumbo was the star attraction of a cash-strapped circus (Called the Wonder Circus in the 1962 film version). When creditors com to seize the assets, Jimmy Durante tries to sneak Jumbo off the circus grounds. Then the sheriff comes along as says "Where are you going with that elephant?"

Durante replies, "What elephant?"

Billy Rose produced both the stage and films versions. Jimmy Durante starred in both versions. Gloria Graham was in the 1935 musical, but was replaced by Doris Day in the film.

Here's the song "Over and over," sung in the film by Doris Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIPSYMcPscc

Notice the waltz-time meter of the song (aka 3/4 time). A lot of circus-related tunes are in this meter.

I will be featuring a lot of waltz-time circus tunes in the next few days.

Today's post features the elephant in Disney's living room. For 78 years he was an animated elephant who saw pink elephants when he got a little tipsy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl3YXl_m0uk

He also, could fly when he flapped his wings.

But even animated elephants get old, and then people running the circus eventually find a real-life elephant to replace him with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QPdRfqTnt4

It may turn out to be a fine movie, but Disney has jettisoned all the songs except "Baby of mine."

I would rather see the animated original.

Now we come to one of the earliest movies I ever saw: "The greatest show on earth"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044672/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

As you can see, this movie came out in 1952, when I was four years old. My family saw it at a drive-in. I don't remember much of it, but given my age it's a wonder I remember any of it. Betty Hutton was, as always, fantastic!