Lions And Tigers And Bears…Oh My!

This is the second of three articles on the circus and its performers.

Do you have a pet? We do, a dog named Taiho. What about cats? Listen to this. Some years ago, my wife Ilka and I visited a woman with 17. No matter how you cut it, that’s a lot of cats. She was extraordinary, but even more extraordinary than you might think, because these were not everyday house cats. They came from India, Africa, and Siberia, and weighed up to 800 pounds.

Let me explain. My wife and I were vacationing on Longboat Key, an island off Sarasota on the west coast of Florida. One sultry November afternoon we visited nearby St. Armands Key and its world famous shopping center, St. Armands Circle, with upscale stores and gourmet restaurants. At t...

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