The Strongman's Vacation

The Strongman’s Vacation By Dan Thomason

The Circus had left one town and was on its way to another. It had been a weekend of excitement for the townfolk, but now there was only a slow procession making its way somewhere else. The tents had been folded, the seats stored away, and the popcorn and peanut shells had been swept up. The elephants and horses were tethered and slowly walked down the road. Olaf was the Strongman at the Circus. He could do amazing feats of strength, like bending iron bars with his bare hands, or straightening out horseshoes. He could hold up a platform with lots of people standing on it. He could wrestle a bear to the ground. These weren’t tricks, he was really that strong. Olaf had grown up in the Circus. His father had been a strongman, and Olaf followed in his footsteps. It was the only life he knew. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing more to the world than tents and sawdust, and moving from town to town. He always did his part in setting up and taking down the Circus, and he helped with the animals when he needed to. There were plenty of animals at the Circus. Olaf walked along the road with one of his friends. Nickus was a Rubber Man. He wasn’t really made of rubber, of course, but he could make it look like he was. He could bend his legs over his neck and twist his arms around in ways they shouldn’t go, and he could fold himself up so he could fit in a small box. Olaf spoke wistfully to Nickus, “I think I’m tired.” “Didn’t you get enough sleep last night?” asked Nickus. “I got plenty of sleep – that’s not the problem. I’m always tired these days. It seems like all I do is help put up the Circus, or perform my stunts, or help take down the Circus, or travel to another town to do it all over again.” Nickus thought this over. “Well Olaf, to be honest, that is all you do. I’ve never seen you do anything else!” Then Nickus had an idea. “Why don’t you take a vacation?”

Olaf had never considered such a thing. “A vacation? Can I do that?” “Of course you can. You deserve some time off. The Ringmaster can just put another act in your place.” Olaf was convinced, but he needed to talk to the Ringmaster and get his permission. He found him in a colorfully painted horse-drawn cart at the front of the line with a pair of reigns in his hands. Sitting next to him was a small Clown, still in his makeup. Great big Olaf walked along with his head even with the Ringmaster. “Well, Olaf. What brings you here?” asked the Ringmaster merrily. The Clown honked a little horn. Olaf was nervous, but managed to ask his question. “Well Sir,” he began. “I’ve been working very hard bending iron bars and picking up boulders and so on.” “Yes you have,” agreed the Ringmaster. The Clown honked twice on his horn. Olaf continued. “Now I don’t want you to think that I don’t love my work here at the Circus, but I’ve been feeling tired. Nickus thought I should take a holiday.” “Is that so?” asked the Ringmaster. “Well now, we can’t very well have a strongman who is tired. You might drop something on your foot! What do you think?” He looked at the Clown, who honked his horn three times in agreement. So it was settled and Olaf was free to roam, but where to go? He asked for suggestions from the Fat Lady and the Sword Swallower, from the Acrobats and the Bearded Lady, and finally decided that he should go to the seashore. He borrowed a suitcase from the Human Cannonball and squeezed into a suit that he had for special occasions. It had been a while since he had worn it and it was very tight. He walked to the nearest train station. The station was full of people, all in a hurry to go someplace. Olaf wondered what special abilities the people had, since they all looked about the same to him. There were no giants or midgets or tatooed ladies anywhere that he could see. He decided to board a train, but which one? He found a man in a uniform who directed him to one of the trains that was waiting at the station. Olaf watched the people going through the turnstiles and decided to do the same. He pushed gently on the metal arm but it did not turn. Then he put a little muscle behind it and this

time it moved, but there was also a horrible creaking sound and in a moment Olaf was holding the three arms and the entire turning mechanism which he had managed to pull out of the turnstile. He heard alarms sounding and soon he was surrounded by men in uniforms. “Stop right there, you!” one of them ordered. Olaf stood there with the broken pieces of the turnstile in his hand. “That’s my train,” said Olaf, and pointed with a piece of metal. “Do you have a ticket? You have to have a ticket before you get to the train. How did you break that thing apart? It’s made of carbon steel!” Olaf shrugged, “I don’t know. It broke.” It was just a flimsy piece of junk as far as he was concerned. Olaf put down the pieces and stood in line to buy a ticket. The next time he went through the turnstile he used his ticket and walked through as he should. By this time the Conductor had called out “All aboard!” and the train was about to leave. The doors were sliding shut on the train, but Olaf reached out and pulled it open. He heard another horrible snapping and crunching sound and an alarm went off somewhere. Olaf was suddenly surrounded by the men in uniform again. “Well, this train’s not going anywhere for a while.” The man turned to Olaf. “You just don’t know your own strength, do you?” “Can I get on the train?” Olaf asked meekly. “Sure, step right on board – the door’s open. The train isn’t going to move until we fix this door though.” Olaf sat down in the train and waited, with his little borrowed suitcase in his lap. He sat and sat, waiting for the train to move. He listened to some men repairing the door he had broken with much grunting and banging. There were other people in the car, whispering and turning to look at Olaf from time to time. He began to feel very uncomfortable, because he knew that they knew he was the reason for the delay. Eventually the train left the station and Olaf finally began to enjoy himself a little bit, as he watched the scenery speed by. After a while the Conductor announced his stop and Olaf got off the train. He left the station and strolled through the little beach-side community. He checked into a hotel and then he decided to visit the beach. On his way to the beach he saw a man trying to push an automobile. There was a woman

steering the lifeless vehicle as the man huffed and puffed. Olaf casually walked over. “Where are you trying to go?” he asked. The man did not look up. “I’m just trying to get the car off of the road. I’ll have to call a tow truck.” Olaf put one hand on the top of the car and began to push. They started to pick up speed and before long the man was just trying to keep up. “Why don’t you get in the car. I’ll push.” The man jumped in the car and before long they were rolling swiftly as Olaf trotted along beside. He pushed the car as easily as a roller skate and soon they were at a gas station and the woman steered to the entrance. They smiled and waved in thanks as Olaf continued on his way to the beach. Then Olaf saw a moving van. A family was moving into an apartment and two men were struggling with a refrigerator. “Do you need some help?” called Olaf. The men looked at Olaf, then at each other. One of them shrugged, “Sure.” he said. Olaf strolled over and picked up the refrigerator. “Where do you want it?” he asked. Before long Olaf had carried all of the heavy items into the apartment. He carried the washer and dryer and the couch, and even moved a piano all by himself. A crowd of neighbors gathered to watch Olaf at work. The showman in him came out and he started to put some flair in each trip. He began to juggle a mattress, and then let it spin around on one finger as though it were pizza dough. The neighbors applauded. Before long Olaf was surrounded by new friends. They wanted to know about the circus. They wanted to cook food for him and take him to the beach. He spent the rest of the day having fun at their houses and apartments and at the shore. In the evening they made a big fire on the beach and everyone sat around laughing and talking. Olaf’s time off went by quickly, but he was soon ready to get back to the Circus and do his act again. Sometimes even a Strongman needs a vacation.