For the better part of two hours Sunday the audience of more than 600 was in awe of the physical antics of the Boom Town performers at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
Hands were held to lips in suspended disbelief, only to be released by applause time and again by the incredible displays of strength, balance and flexibility.
The true genius of the performers was to make us think we could possess an iota of their talent as they effortlessly combined dance and gymnastic techniques to rousing music.
All ages were thoroughly entertained by evidence of a prolonged and thunderous standing ovation by youngsters and adults alike.

THAT’S THE SECRET of the Bowlus. Whether it’s in the classroom for art, drama and music or on stage to showcase world class entertainment, the Bowlus brings generations together to enjoy the arts.
It’s from that kind of “fun,”  we expand our horizons.
Whether we realized it or not, Sunday’s performance taught us of the many physical feats of which the human body is capable — with the right training and devotion.
Who knows what spark was lit in a little one’s mind, or a senior citizen’s, for that matter.
The performance also taught us the value of real-life entertainment. Somehow, seeing the same feats on television lack the dramatic impact.
Thank you Cheryl and Terry Sparks of State Farm Insurance for sponsoring the event. Their commitment to the Bowlus speaks volumes about their allegiance to Iola and the arts in general.
A bequest from the Sleeper Trust also helped the Bowlus be able to afford the demanding rigging required for the suspended trapezes, poles and chandelier — of all things.
Next up — Sons of the Pioneers on Nov. 20. Tickets for the legendary Western singers go on sale today.
Treat yourself. Go see a show at the Bowlus.

— Susan Lynn

All U.S. combat troops will be home for Christmas, President Obama promised again last Friday. When negotiations with the al-Malaki government to keep a few thousand U.S. troops there to train Iraqi forces failed, the president decided it was game over. The only U.S. presence that will remain will be Marines who guard the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and a few thousand civilian security guards to protect U.S. diplomats throughout the country.
The war with Iraq cost the lives of 4,400 U.S. service men and women, gravely injured tens of thousands, contributed more than $1 trillion to the deficit and did nothing to create the model democratic, free enterprise Iraq that was President George W. Bush’s idealistic dream.
Saddam Hussein was deposed and hanged. But the bitter fighting between the Sunnis and Shiites continues and civil war there is still a possibility.
There are bright spots in this dark picture. The apparatus for representative government exists. If the Iraqis decide to use it and govern themselves by laws, they can. At least they now have a choice.
For the U.S., the positives are legion. The killing of our troops will stop. At least one spigot on the treasury will be turned off.
Perhaps most important, Washington can now focus on winding down the war in Afghanistan and pushing Israel and Palestine into a two-state agreement while it supports the surge toward more representative government throughout the Arab world.

HISTORY WILL JUDGE whether our decision to attack Iraq was (a) justified and (b) wise in the long run. Contemporary scholars of prestige make both arguments.
Few, however, contend that the United States of America — beyond question the world’s dominant military power — should abdicate its role as referee and enforcer when rogue nations endanger others.
Moammar Gadhafi was killed Thursday because NATO airstrikes destroyed most of the convoy carrying him and others of his cadre as they tried to find safety and left him prey to the rebel forces. Without Britain, France and the U.S., the rebellion against Libya’s dictator may well have failed. And it was the United States that made the difference.
President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, who has been able to stay in power despite months of popular uprisings against his rule, will do all that he can to keep NATO from taking sides with the opposition forces there. That possibility, however, remains real if Assad continues to kill the unarmed protestors who threaten his rule.
In Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh so far has balked at a U.S.-backed demand issued Friday by the U. N. Security Council to step down and hand over power to a deputy before the demonstrations against his regime grow even more violent.
Saleh also must be contemplating the grisly details of Gadhafi’s final moments and feeling that accepting the offer of immunity has suddenly become attractive.

HERE IN THE U.S. where pundits insist that the only thing on the voters’ minds is the economy, these events tell a different story. The U.S. remains the biggest player, economically as well as militarily, on the world scene. A president of the United States who doesn’t have a good grounding in foreign affairs and world history could be an utter disaster.
Jobs, jobs, jobs? Sure. But peace, peace, peace, too. And freedom, freedom, freedom, as well. Not to mention individual rights and down with tyranny. It is, alas, a complex world out there. The leader of the United States should be able to deal with all of it.

— Emerson Lynn, jr.

When the zany day wound up in Zanesville, Ohio, Tuesday night, all but one of Terry Thompson’s exotic animals was dead or back in captivity. Mr. Thompson was dead, too.
The 62-year-old ex-con killed himself after turning his wild animals loose and causing a frantic, all-day search by sheriff’s officers and other law enforcement personnel.
Thompson’s menagerie included 18 Bengal tigers, 17 lions, grizzly bears, cheetahs, wolves and monkeys – a total of 56 wild animals, many of which were exceedingly dangerous to people or domestic animals.
Sheriff Matt Lutz did exactly what he should have done when he armed deputies with high-powered rifles, put them in the back of pickups and told them to shoot to kill.
The lesson from this bizarre day is that private zoos stocked with predators should not be allowed. Ohio’s laws required Thompson only to keep the animals fed and caged. They didn’t require him to be a rational man – nor could such a law be written.
Zanesville surely will persuade Ohio lawmakers to make a repeat performance impossible.
It is beside the point that Thompson had just been released from federal prison, where he had served a sentence for possessing illegal firearms and owed $56,000 in back taxes. Large predatory animals should not be kept on private property. Period.
Because they are dangerous to people, pets and farm animals, animals that by nature kill to eat belong in designated wilderness areas or in zoos managed by public bodies.
Community rights should trump personal rights when public safety is at issue.

– Emerson Lynn, jr.

Moammar Gadhafi’s death on Thursday cheats those who wanted first to try him, then execute him publicly, of a prolonged revenge.
That’s surely for the best. The time and energy are much better spent on the infinitely complicated task of moving from a personal, erratic dictatorship to a government based on law and broad participation by the governed.
Gadhafi ruled for 42 years. He was an extraordinarily brutal man. A full list of those he had murdered or caused to die can never be made. He made Libya the butt of jokes worldwide with idiocies while committing an endless string of bestial cruelties to keep himself in power. The world is a better place without him. History will write his indictment in all of its ghastly detail without the need of a courtroom, prosecutors and worldwide TV.
Because he is gone, the Arab Spring can be sunnier. With Gadhafi in power, Libya offered no hope to the Arab on the street for a better Middle East. Libya counted only on the negative side of the equation. Now it can play a positive role.
That’s a possibility, not a prediction.
With luck and wise help from its friends, Libya’s rebels can now become the creators of a nation that will unite and serve the people there and use its oil wealth for the general good.
The United States can find ways to be of use to the Libyans eager to realize that opportunity. But we probably should wait to be asked.

– Emerson Lynn, jr.