carbonated joy

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages…

step right up and change your lives!

Step inside Dr. Love’s traveling exposition of wild wonder…

It’s not for the faint of heart! It’s an unparalleled adventure! It’s the story of Dr. Love, who came from a faraway unbroken place…a world of wonder. As He traveled throughout Big Top, He gathered His own circus. It was comprised of a band of human curiosities, a tribe of misfits that found hope, truth, belonging and wonder. For everywhere that Dr. Love went He unleashed wild wonder! This is that truly true fantastical tale!

Once upon a time there was a good and kindhearted Ring Master who loved laughter and dance and color and magic and mystery. But most of all, the ring master loved his children of all ages. So he created a special place for them. He created Big Top as a place to amaze and amuse His children of all ages. It was a beautiful place full of vibrant color and happy music. There was laughter and dancing. Everything smelled like cotton candy. It was a wonderful place and time.

But the Ring Master had an evil and cruel enemy, an evil boss clown. He hated the Ring Master and he wanted to steal the joy and kill the wonder in Big Top. He used sleight of soul to deceive the children of all ages. He tempted and tricked the citizens of Big Top and they turned their back on the Ring Master. He had promised a three ring party but it was all a lie. Instead of life he brought pain, fear and brokenness. Big Top was broken (along with the Ring Master’s heart) Innocence was lost, the colors weren’t as bright, the music lost its rhythm, the laughter faded. The evil boss clown had all the citizens of Big Top in his grease paint stained grip. They were his slaves; He forced them to be a part of his twisted carnival. The people were controlled like chickens forced to dance on a hot plate.

But…There was still beauty in Big Top and the Ringmaster had a plan. He would send the simply astonishing Dr. Love to bring the circus back to town. Whatever Dr. Love touched would regain its original, unbroken beauty. Dr. Love brought a new circus to town, a circus without chains, a circus of freedom, joy and wonder.

Ladies and gentlemen…LET THE BIG SHOW BEGIN!

The barker was dressed in the clothes of a common carny, a musty red velvet coat, a tattered green vest, plaid pants that were more patch than pant, fingerless wool gloves and a derby that had certainly seen better days. He had wild eyes and a scruffy beard. He was unkempt and untamed and, some would said, a little unhinged. He smelled like freedom and an old tuna sandwich. The barker wandered about Big Top armed with an old megaphone and a message. He would wait until he had a crowd and then the barker would clear his throat and shout “I offer an elixir for the soul, but Dr. Love will give you life itself!”

It was about that time that Dr. Love took his show on the road. He hitched up a colorful wagon to a small, yet sturdy albino donkey named Phineas. He took off traveling slowly from town to town. His first stop was to see the Barker. The Barker was standing on a wooden box in front of a crowd of people. He was making wild, animated gestures with his hands and telling stories of hope. Dr. Love left Phineas and the cart behind and walked through the crowd. The barker stopped mid-sentence, gasped, and stuttered “G-G-Galloping locusts! It’s you!!” Dr. Love grinned and chuckled. He grabbed the Barker’s shoulder and said “it’s time my friend! Let’s unleash the wonder!” The barker, who for seemingly the first time in his life was speechless, said “but…” Dr. Love cut him off “c’mon, do it cuz!” With trembling hands, the Barker reached in his tattered vest pocket and pulled out a small gold medal with an engraved symbol of a burning heart. It was attached to a bright purple ribbon. He put it around Dr. Love’s neck and then he humbly bowed. Suddenly the booming voice of the Ringmaster cut through the stillness of the moment…”Ladies and Gentlemen, My children of all ages…THE MAIN EVENT”.
Rather than stick around for applause and accolades, Dr. Love cut away from the crowd and went down a dark, lonely alley. It was there that he encountered the boss clown and his twisted clown alley. Four of the clown minions grabbed Dr. Love and threw him into a big steel mesh sphere; it was called the Globe of Death. Dr. Love calmly stood in the center of the sphere as clowns on loud motorcycles started circling around him. They got within inches of him and were shouting out unbelievably crass clown curses. Dr. Love just stood there, clutching his burning heart medallion and remembering who he was. The clown boss let out a chilling laugh and said, “Well, well…Good Doctor, welcome to my carnival of fear and hate. Step right up and all this can be yours! We can be partners…together, we can rule the circus.” Dr. Love looked him in his bloodshot eyes and replied, “beat it clown!” the boss clown recoiled, as if slapped, and spit out “this isn’t the last you’ve seen of me!” then…suddenly…he was gone, along with the evil clown alley and the globe of death. Only Dr. Love remained and he took a moment to bask in the approval of the Ringmaster.

As he traveled, Dr. Love started putting together a troupe. One day, he was taking Phineas and the wagon down a quiet patch of beach when he encountered a strongman. The strongman was strutting around the shore carrying heavy barbells trying to impress everyone. He was making grunty noises and accidently kicking sand in everyone’s faces. He certainly looked the part, from the outside. He was big and burly. He had some really rough edges and a gift for the inappropriate. But inside he was soft and confused. He desperately wanted to be the BIG man and get respect and popularity. He had spent his life trying to measure up, but he always came up short in the social circus. He had great intentions, but he would always end up saying or doing something stupid. He would embarrass himself and his family. He saw Dr. Love and started lifting a bar bell and said “…412…413…414.” Dr. Love giggled and said “oh strongman, true strength only comes through surrender.” Dr. Love rubbed his chin, grinned and spoke the words that would change the life of the strongman: “Join me in the ways of wonder! Run away and join my circus!” the strong man didn’t hesitate…he dropped everything to run off and join the circus.

A little further on, they saw two brothers, Alonzo and Gonzo, riding a tilt-a-whirl with their dad. Dr. Love made them the same offer. They immediately left everything, including the tilt-a-whirl and their slightly nauseous father, and ran off with the circus.

Dr. Love and his little troupe went to town. He stopped and talked to the people, but he was interrupted by angry gargling noises. It was a man with an evil clown hanging on his back. The clown was hanging on by a crude headlock and was whispering ugly lies to the man. It was causing great pain and confusion, not to mention the clown had incredibly foul breath. The clown made a strange gargling sound and started to say something, but, Dr. Love cut him off and said “beat it clown!” the evil clown shrieked and hopped off the man. The defeated clown scuttled down the street like a scared spider monkey. Every few feet, it tripped over its big clown shoes. The citizens of Big Top were amazed and astonished.

It was about then that Dr. Love ran into the Alligator Man. the Alligator Man had a seriously itchy problem and a love for Cajun food. He didn’t get invited to any parties because he looked like a walking handbag. People were afraid to touch him or even talk to him because they might catch his condition. He was tired of living like this and he had heard tales of wonder. He shuffled up to Dr. Love and he said in a desperate, raspy voice; “if you want to, you can fix me…” Dr. Love smiled and grabbed his face and replied, “OH…I WANT TO!” instantly wonder ruled the day as people saw something they had never seen before. The alligator man was suddenly unbroken. He and Dr. Love went and ate some gumbo together.

The flying burrito brothers and their rooftop acrobatics were legendary. They could do truly astonishing things. They would fly on swings, trapezes and occasionally ceiling fans. They weren’t actually brothers, just five REALLY good friends who, by sheer coincidence, had the same last name. Their first names were Bobby, Buddy, Billy, Bucky and Ernesto. Ernesto couldn’t join in on the act. He was paralyzed from a fall when he was very young. Since then Bobby, Buddy, Billy and Bucky had taken care of him. They did everything to make sure that he realized he was still a part of the act, but Ernesto desperately wanted to fly like a burrito again. The “brothers” heard stories about Dr. Love. They heard that everywhere he went he unleashed wonder and that he did things that no one had ever seen. They thought if only we can get Ernesto to Dr. Love, maybe he could help him. They carried him to the ragged Circus tent where Dr. Love was telling stories of hope and wonder. The air was thick with anticipation and the smell of slightly burnt popcorn. They walked through the flaps, but the tent was really crowded and they couldn’t go much farther. People were pressing into Dr. Love. There was no way to carry Ernesto through the crowd. So they did what any real friends, with trapeze skills, would do, they carried their friend to the top of the tent. Then they put him in a net and lowered him through the air with the greatest of ease. They set him down right in front of Dr. Love. Dr. Love, who was very impressed by the boldness of the Burritos, bent down and grabbed Ernesto’s hand. He said “Ernesto, you are unbroken…inside and out…stand up and fly like you were born to!” Ernesto jumped up and shouted “TA DA!!!” then he started doing back flips and really astonishing jumps!

The Ringworm brothers were lurking about. They were five brightly dressed, yet completely unhappy brother who WERE actually brothers. They owned the circus tents and equipment so they felt like this gave them the right to make rules and bully the circus people. The circus had been in their family for so long that they had forgotten what it was like NOT to own the circus. They prided themselves on the circus being a family business, their family! And so they were naturally very jealous of Dr. Love and they were afraid of anything new. They started grumbling and talking amongst themselves…”Dr. Love is a fake…who does he think he is…the true Ring master would never do that…he isn’t part of our family…he’s messing up everything that we have worked so hard for!”

All this talk didn’t bother Dr. Love at all. He was having way too much fun! He spent his days inviting children of all ages to the circus. Most of the time that involved simply hanging out, eating a lot of corn dogs, drinking root beer and telling stories. A bunch of misfits, outcasts, renegades and rebels joined the circus. They were loud and wildly inappropriate.This greatly disturbed the Ringworm brothers…“hmmppphh! He hangs out with the worst kind of people…the scum of the circus!” The Ringworm brothers were constantly trying to make the circus all about rules and regulations. But, Dr. Love’s circus was all about the wild things that you can’t regulate…wonder …joy…love…laughter. Dr. Love overheard the criticism, sighed and shook his head, “fresh wonder can’t be contained in your tired, old, man-made boxes…it’s got to be allowed to run free and wild.”

As Dr. Love journeyed through the land in a colorful wagon, his troupe was growing. It was made up of every shape, color and size of human curiosity. Dr. Love celebrated their differences. That is what made them interesting. It was a kaleidoscope of humanity. Some of them had seedy and sketchy stories, they had made mistakes. Some of them had spent their lives trying to be good enough, but never achieving it. They all came together under the same circus tent. When they joined the circus, it was like they redefined themselves. They became new. They were part of something much bigger than themselves…they were walking, talking trophies of grace and wonder in Dr. Love’s traveling exposition of wild wonder.