The Greatest Show on Earth (Remember?)

There have been many shows along the road of life -- the billboards pointed the way, and we followed the gaily painted wagons along the sawdust trail, led by the blare of the brass band and charmed by the antics of the tumbling clowns. With the candor of children we watched wide-eyed as over the hill the Big Top rose in the early dawn. We gazed with awe at the canvas, taut and tough. We stared, young and confused, awed by the colors, the noise, and the bustling activity. Then we were suddenly and somewhat reluctantly, tossed into the glaring arena -- we were part of the glamorous world to which we had always wanted to belong; ours was a stellar role in "The Greatest Show on Earth" -- our high school career.

The life of a showman has not been an easy one, but now that the end is near, we're glad we were in there, even when the hot dust of failure stung our eyes, when we froze on the tight rope of an examination, when the ring master seemed a little too harsh with us.

We'll be there for one last performance; we'll be there to see the Big Top come down and the performers move to other arenas. We'll be sad when we stand together for the last time to answer the final curtain call, but we will be proud that we were, for a time, a part of
"The Greatest Show on Earth."
-- introduction in the 1960 Rocket annual