The "You Die" Line

There are any number of things I liked about working for the circus, but I've never told anyone about the little spark of joy I always felt when the "You Die" Line was mentioned.

The circus isn't a safe place, at all, at all. There are many possible ways to hurt yourself when putting up or taking down a circus tent, any number of things to get cut by or fall off of, and that doesn't even take into account the deranged quality of your co-workers. Or the elephants.

But most of the accidents that could happen would be rather mundane, really. Tripping over all the things that would be laying around, taking a wrong step and twisting an ankle, having a finger pinched by something heavy and suchlike. But being inside the "You Die" Line when an accident occurred meant that, you would, indeed, die, and that your death would go down in circus legend.

The Line only existed for about 20 minutes during the course of loading in or out. This would be during the course of raising or lowering the multi-ton metal masts that supported both the tent canvas and the light array. Nothing else happened while this was going on, as only about four guys were really involved in the process, but none of the rest of us could do our things until the masts were set. 98% of the crew would just be watching and waiting, and, like me, hoping just a little that the worst would happen. It would have been a hell of a thing to see.

The "You Die" Line was just that, the demarcation circle at which, should you be within it's boundaries when the wheels came off, you would be reduced to a sack of bloody pulp and bone splinters. Short of being on the grenade range during basic training, it was as close as I'd ever come to being near such singular possible mayhem.

I couldn't tell you why, but the very idea of the "You Die" Line Makes me smile, just a little, every time I think of it.