“Everyone had a metaphor. The tent went up like cellophane, like tissue paper, like a fuse. A Roman candle, a sheet of newspaper. It was like tossing a piece of paper in a fireplace, like putting a match to a celluloid collar.” ~ Stewart O’Nan, THE CIRCUS FIRE, Doubleday, June 2000, p. 81

A stand-up discussing the fire outside of the event room.

On July 6, 1944, 168 people died when a fire broke out during a performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, CT. While I am not related to anyone who was there that day (that I know of, at least) and have no connection to it, the tragedy, for some reason, has always interested me.

This year, Read the rest of this entry →