Sunday, August 31, 2008

RBBB Blue 1978 #1 (From Jim Cole)


scan0199, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.


Ben Williams 1978, Miami, FL

6 comments:

jerry digney said...

having worked with you guys at circus world and ringling blue, i can personally attest to the uniqueness of this act, presented with the greatest showmanship imaginable--as i've said before, one of a kind and a great thrill to watch--anna may was an amazingly gifted elephant, a loyal family member with truly historic talent. great memories of those days--a true original, lucky for us!

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Babcock -

Only slightly related to the picture but I could not find an email address for you.

I recently had the pleasure of seeing the GSOE in Oakland, California and one of things that charmed my family was an Elephant calf that joined the parade.

This was obviously a very young elephant, but he(?) carried himself very proudly - trunk up - and tended to kick up his heels a bit.

My daughter commented he seemed to be very happy and proud to out be there performing.

I known that it is dangerous equating human emotion to animal behaviour, but in your extensive experience as an Elephant trainer, do you believe the elephants enjoy performing?

In the videos I've seen of you (florida redneck indeed!!) and others performing with your beloved Anna May, it seems she was quite happy to perform.

Thank you for a incredibly interestng blog.

Jerald Pendleton
Castro Valley, CA

GaryHill said...

Biggles Babcock presents the Amazing Anna May!:)

Buckles said...

I have found that elephants can be paralleled to humans in a number of ways.
Some are well coordinated and find performing easy, others may be less so and are relegated to tricks within their abilities.
As to whether they enjoy it or not, I have presented elephants at outdoor engagements in the hot, glaring sun, in a dusty filthy ring which I'm sure they didn't enjoy, I certainly didn't.
On the other hand on a cold day they would get pretty frisky and act up like the little elephant you describe.
So in the grand scheme of things, the good days vastly outnumbered the bad and they were then rewarded with several months vacation in Florida each winter where the weather is perfect.
This from a man who needs no introduction.
The name is Woodcock.

Anonymous said...

With out a doubt one of the finest well trained, well received by the public animal presentations of all species of animals in showbiz history. It was all together in every way.

Anonymous said...

My Apologies. Darn Aluminum cookware...