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Tuesday, May 25, 2004
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WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO PRETTY PEOPLE
It's always tragic when the flower of our youth are cut down in horrifying and senseless circumstances. It's even more tragic when they have beautiful faces. And I would argue that it's a crime against humanity when a tight, little body is forever destroyed.
Such was the fate of the super-hot Dessi Espana, 32 of Ringling Brothers Circus. Espana met her fate Saturday in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She was performing her much-celebrated, "twirling on long chiffon scarves thirty feet above a concrete floor" trick.
Contrary to local laws regarding such stunts (which begs the question,"Are such stunts so common a law is required? Who knew?), there was no net beneath Espana.
Shaken witnesses, who included many children, described the scene: Espana was upside-down, hanging by her legs with no harness or net when a scarf loosened and she plunged to the arena floor.
Some witnesses said Espana landed headfirst; others said she landed on her back or stomach.
I know that it's probably inappropriate to project my depraved carnal desires on a woman so recently deceased, but I can't help it. You still love me, don't you? I thought you did. There are any number of fun, non-lethal ways that the late Miss Espana could've utilized her silken scarves, upside-down. Jesus, I'm compiling a visual list in head right now, and I have to tell you....I'm getting aroused.
Oh, I guess I shouldn't guaruntee that my now catalouged adventures would be non-lethal. As I wrote last weekend, accidents do happen.
Clowns came out in what circusgoers described as an attempt to draw attention away from the scene. That worked for some of the younger children, but not for everyone.
"A little girl behind us asked, 'Is she still alive?' " said Kim Golembeck, of Big Lake, whose 3-year-old son didn't realize there had been an accident.
I hate to sound overly callous about this, but isn't this precisely what children should see? At some point, aren't we all supposed to learn that engaging in dumb and dangerous activities can lead to ugly circumstances?
As one might have guessed, the tragedy wasn't enough to warrant the powers that be at Ringling Brothers to do something crazy, like call it a night.
The 2 and 1/2-hour show continued as medical personnel and circus officials worked on Espana, who comes from a family of Bulgarian performers.
Laurie Burnham left after the accident with her 10- and 12-year-old daughters.
"They were really distraught, especially because the ringmaster started up again like nothing had happened," said Burnham, of St. Paul.
Wow. That ringmaster is cold! Maybe the disfiguring deaths of hot chicks doesn't phase him like the rest of us.
Saturday's 7 p.m. show went on as scheduled. Shows scheduled for Sunday were also to go on as planned.
"The show must go on," said circus spokeswoman Alexis Copeland.
Perhaps Dessi is at the Big Tent in the Sky now. She was too cute and too young to die. My condolences to her husband and children.
1971-2004
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