6:49:20 am
UCT
37
online
6:49:20 am
UCT
37
online
The life of showman is rife with luster, but what happens when the light sets, the gold turning to ochre? On the platform, the only lights that go out are people. For some it is a blessed retirement, but for most, hey - you at least need to go out with a bang.
That last show has to be extra special, something for the ones who are always there. They sit in the now crowded auditorium among those who simply want to watch the last blink before you dim. It's hardest often, for this reason: maybe nothing is that spectacular at all as you look back. But then you get back on stage and realize, they're there to see you. Not your tricks.
You are the golden goose, the burnished relic, and though you aren't in your prime, you can still make the first and last for everyone else. For that is the life of a showman, the end all and be all for others.
And then it ends with a lemon sour.