The Start of Autumn

  As much as I love the summer and everything that goes with it, the start of Autumn brings about a feeling of family closeness and cozy days in the trailer.  This is the time of year we plan for Halloween costumes, decorations and the show party. Around this time of year we talk a lot about what we will do over the winter at home (which for me usually means some sort of decorating/home improvement project).  This is the time of year we pull The Wizard of Oz up on the dvr and watch Eloise at Christmas a few times a week.  Let the hot chocolate and hot coffee drinks flow!  With only about 5 weeks left of the season, this is about the time I start compiling lists for Christmas presents.  Yes, the off-season is just around the corner...already!

  The last several weeks have been eventful, to say the least.  During our time in Wisconsin a couple months back we enjoyed visits from circus fans, nice weather and grassy lots.  I also slipped, fell and landed square on my left wrist during one show at the tail end or our WI run.  I was in and out of the hospital in a matter of  hours with x-rays in hand and hardware in wrist.  One long plate and 8 screws to be exact to repair a long fracture.  We left WI and headed to Kansas.  A nice and much enjoyed two-day stand in Leavenworth along with help from generous circus fans allowed me to visit with a local doctor to have my cast removed and wrist examined.  All seems to be healing well, and as I still follow doctor's orders exercising my hand and wrist I find the healing process to be slow but very steady. 

  We played not too far from Topeka a couple weeks ago. It was the perfect opportunity to catch up with my best pal from St. Augustine High School.  We didn't have much time together but made the best of what time we did have over lunch in a little local diner.  Jill looks the same as she did in high school, and we gabbed up a storm just like we did in high school!  What fun!! 

  The last few towns have been ones we played two years ago when I joined my family with Tootie for a while.  Playing with Georgia and Genevieve at the same park where Genevieve was toddling around in two years ago was at first a little strange, but quickly became joy-filled.

  We still haven't decided what we're going to be for Halloween.  But since the stores are already packing their shelves with seasonal goodies, it won't be long till we make a decision.  We always have lots of fun poring through the costumes, decorations and candy selection.  This time of year brings back so many fun memories and reminds us to of how much we have to look forward to when the season is indeed over. :)

   

Random Pictures 2012 Installment 2

My friend Karen Goodman Glenn

Ron and Paulina Boyne City, MI

DJ, me and Tootie

April

Neal Skoy and me

Stilts Volponi and Tootie

Jennifer, me & Tootie visiting our old house in Springfield, OH

Beach pyramid

Random Pictures 2012 Installment 1

February in Paris, TX

Tootie at the keyboard watching her favorite tv shows.

My nephew Christopher

Mother's Day in Springfield, Ohio

My mom's grave marker. Mother's Day 2012

Tootie's birthday cake.

Besties and cousins birthday party.

Circus women

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

  The last few weeks have provided an extra special treat for the kids and me.  Our travels through portions of Michigan, including my favorite, the U.P., and Wisconsin has allowed us several to visit beaches reminiscent of Florida spots where vacationers sail, swim, sunbathe and generally 'get away from it all.'  As much as I've traveled through the mitten and Wisconsin in my time with different circuses, I was pleasantly surprised to discover many wonderful quaint resort villages along the great lake shores.  From beach bumming in Hessel to para-sailing on an 800' line 400 vertical feet over the the water with my nieces in Boyne City we've enjoyed all of our 'get away from it all' hours. These lake spots are like paradise to the girls and me.

  The beach setting immediately makes me feel like the rest of the world is far away.  It takes me back to our summer family vacations with my grandparents and sisters & brother.  We made the drive from Dayton to Pompano Beach, Daytona Beach and Orlando many times.  My very favorite times were always checking into a new hotel and hitting the pool with my sister Lauren while our grandparents were still taking the luggage off the roof rack of the station wagon.  My brother would sometimes catch us in the shallow end and taunt us with the Jaws theme as he bear hugged us all the way to the deep end.  Our cries were usually met by Marc getting a verbal scolding from our grandmother to let us go...no need to try Grandma's verbal warnings, we all knew better! ;)  Of course no Florida vacation is complete without a trip or two to the white sandy beaches.  I can still smell the salty ocean water and love the sound of the waves. (I used to have an alarm clock with ocean sound effects. I should get a new one.)  Grandpa taught us how to swim in those hotel pools but the best was when he showed us how to ride the ocean waves, or body surf I guess it's called. 

   I somehow had the presence of mind to bring coffee which enhanced many of our lake outings.  Looking from behind my favorite sunglasses, I reclined on the picnic blanket on top of the dry sand we'd smoothed out.  I watched the girls play with Lana on the wet sand as they created elaborate sand castles, dug deep watery holes, hunted for fancy rocks and made sand angels.  The shallow lakes were pretty warm and invited the girls to test their water skills for long water-logged stretches.  I wondered if the joy I felt watching them was the same joy that welled up in my grandparents as they watched us many times do all the same things on the Florida beaches. Those pleasant lessons, collecting shells, finding sand dollars and creating sand designs were all pleasant memories I conjured up as I watched my kids.  

  We managed a few stops at local ice cream parlors and souvenir shops such as the Summer Store.  These shops boasted the latest in brightly colored and flower patterned summer beach wear, flip flops, floppy hats and low beach chairs. (Oh and there were fridge magnets too!)  All very reminiscent of the commerce along the shores of Ft. Myers Beach.

  Our time around the great lakes is coming to a close, but we are still taking advantage of nearby beaches when we can.  Our gift shop souvenirs will of course help keep our memories fresh of the great lakes.  Some of the best reminders didn't come from the shops.  Actually, the girls' and my favorite souvenirs came straight from the beaches themselves.  The colorful rocks and shells and will make a nice addition to our house in Texas. 

 

Control of the Remote

  A few days ago I found myself enjoying a quiet early afternoon in the trailer.  Sitting at the dinette, remote in hand I began looking through the many channels available from Direct TV.  The block of kids' entertainment channels gets a lot of play in our house along with occasional A & E programming.  Since the quality of A & E programming has dropped over the last few years our guide tends to stay of the family entertainment  channels.  Nothing wrong with that.  I thoroughly enjoy watching  Toot play her toy drums and keyboard along with the clever tunes of the Fresh Beat Band.  Georgia and I have had many laughs at the expense of Patrick and Spongebob, Timmy Turner and Spencer Shay.  I really don't tire of the kids' television programs.  They are on most of the day and many times it's just background noise as we do other things around the house.  

  It dawned on me that since both girls were outside enjoying the sunshine and soft grass as they ran and played with their cousins, I had control of our remote.  I could turn the tv to any station I wanted.  The sun, warm weather and kids finishing the school year were indicative of one thing: baseball season had been underway and I was missing it. This was my chance to turn the station to, dare I say...MLBN or ESPN in the serene comfort of the dining room, which by the way is the best and most comfortable seat in the house, while the kids were outside running off their seemingly endless supply of kid energy.  

  I quickly found channel 213 and familiarized myself with an hour long highlights show called Quick Pitch.  It wasn't long until I found myself virtually mesmerized by the latest happenings in what has always been my favorite sport.  I am a little embarrassed to say I have been out of the baseball loop since about 1998.  At that time I followed the Atlanta Braves with a baseball magnifying glass.  They were at that time, in my opinion the best regular season team around and masters of coming back from behind to win a game at the last minute.  Bobby Cox and pitching coach,  Leo Mazzone, nervous rocking and all, were a matchless pair of coaches.  The talent and skill in their line up included  young upstart Andruw Jones, Tommy "Gun" Glavine, fresh faced, and to this day a personal favorite, Chipper Jones and the Big Cat, Andres Galaraga who held the record at that time for most hits on his arm while up to bat.  (Intimidated pitcher anyone??)  Their games always kept me on the edge of my seat.

  One summer week end in 1998 I had the heavenly pleasure of seeing my Bravos play at Turner field.  The first night they opposed the Dodgers.  This was back when Mike Piazza was still behind the plate.  Pitcher for LA....drum roll please...Hideo Nomo.  He was pitted against Greg Maddux and his personal catcher Eddie Perez. It was most certainly the quintessential pitcher's duel.  The following night I saw my team go up against the Giants.  I remember being so close to Barry Bonds that I was rendered somewhat speechless. I can't remember who pitched for each team that second night.  I would have to dig out the pictures from those nights that are securely tucked away in my bedroom closet at home to jog my memory.  But what I do remember was that night two in Turner field was a slug fest with scores approaching double digits. 

  Baseball was always a popular sport in my house.  Growing up in Dayton in the 70's we had many a Big Red Machine game on the console tv.   I can remember a dive or two by Pete Rose into home plate.  It always looked so painful and yet impressive.  Cesar Geronimo's name itself impressed me too back then.  I remember wondering if he was really an American Indian.  But, to this day, no one has impressed me more than #5, Johnny Bench.  I could go on and on about the trivia that rattles around in my head about this catcher who revolutionized his position.  His one handed catching has been copied by many Bench wanna- bes.  His accuracy and record-holding speed of the ball to second base has not been matched even by the likes of the "heart and soul" of the Yankees Thurman Munson or Ivan "Pudge" Rodreguiz. 

  Somewhere around 1975 and 1976 my grandfather took all of us kids to see the Reds play at what was then Riverfront Stadium.  The only player I can remember seeing fairly close was George Foster.  He must have been having an off season because my grandpa was unhappy to see him in the left field.  Even at 5 and 6 years old the game intrigued me.  I like suspense.  And this game has always kept me in suspense.  To see what the pitchers would throw and how the batters would react was thrilling.  And the signals passed from catcher to pitcher and from coaches to the players in the field was like a secret language in which I wished I was fluent.  As I watched the hosts of Quick Pitch all of those memories came flooding back and George Foster's image in the outfield was very fresh in my mind 35+ years later.

  I've recorded a few ball games and highlight shows recently and at my leisure I've been able to catch up on the Braves, Reds, Yankees and Mets.  I've enjoyed watching the new-to-me players.  My current interests lie in the talents of R.A. Dickey and Johan Santana.  I'll be keeping my eye on newbies like Bryce Harper and old favorites like Kevin Millwood.  It's been fun catching up on America's favorite past time.  The best part...Georgia expressed an interest in buying a couple of gloves and a ball to pass around with me.  

Yes, life is good.  And so is baseball.

Holidays That Should Be...

  Mother's Day is coming up.  I have heard that more greeting cards are sold on Mother's Day than any other holiday.  And from my time at AT&T I learned the phone lines are more busy on this holiday than even Christmas.  It's just around the corner and this year we recognized this special day a few days early.  

  The Culpepper season is taking us on a nice jaunt through the rolling green mid west.  Ohio is as pretty as I remember.  I've seen more quintessential farm scenes on the morning jumps that I think I've ever seen.  I still have family that live in Ohio and we've had the awesome pleasure of a few large get-togethers.

  We moved to the Springfield area with my mom and step-dad in the early 1970's.  Tony had a large white house with 3 bedrooms waiting for his new blended family after their summer wedding.  I was around 5.  That house seemed like a mansion.  The fireplace in the "good living room" (where no one sat unless we had company) had a tall dark mantle that seemed 100 feet tall. Above it were a collection of 8 x 10 assorted school pictures and Olen Mills family photos. This room also displayed the giant reel-to-reel stereo system Tony sometimes blasted at top volume...much to us kids' delights! :)  The stair case had two landings and seemed to take forever to climb.  We used to straddle the long banister and glide down at top speed when mom & Tony weren't looking.  I remember the "good living room" vividly.  In fact, I can remember about every detail of the corner house on Maiden Lane very well.  From my mom's home made nautical print curtains in the family room to the scary back part of the basement where Tony housed his large table saw.  It was a nice house that seemed to often have our neighborhood friends coming and going.  Tony worked at International Harvester for years and after dinner often went to "the barn" which a kind of work shop across town to work on assorted building projects.  He was a big red-headed Italian man with glasses, a deep booming voice and an ornery sense of humor we kids would come to appreciate later in life. At first, his mere presence scared me a little and so did the stitches in his left elbow.  At the time I had secretly wanted  mom and dad to get back together.  All my friends' parents were still together.  It made me feel a little different.  Over time of course everything fell into place and we all enjoyed school at Snyder Park, week ends with our grandparents in Centerville and the occasional trip to the reservoir or the local play ground.  Christmases were huge.  So seemed our back yard and basement where we had more toys than Toys R Us.  Tony provided well for us.  He worked hard.  

  In 1976 our half-sister Jennifer came along.  I thought she was the cutest brown-eyed red-haired baby and I enjoyed helping to care for her any way I could.  We seemed to have just about everything any family could have.  We were happy over all, well cared for and loved.  Our neighborhood was truly "Anytown USA" as Seinfeld's Kramer once said, complete with bike riding kids and chalk sketches on the side walks.  The roughly 5 years we spent there were good and good for us.  

  In February of 1980 our lives all changed for good when our mom went home to be with the Lord.  It was a sudden unexpected passing.  She was just 34.  After her death, three of the four of us kids moved to St. Augustine with my dad's parents while one sister chose the circus life with our dad and step-mom.  Since we were all such a close family, the move with our grandparents was not out of the ordinary.  Our grandparents also provided well for us.  I liked Florida a lot but it took a few years for it to seem like home.  I missed Tony and Jennifer and the corner house.  

  I have only seen Tony a handful of times since 1980.  The most recent being the other day.  He is 67 now and aside from his once red hair turning gray, he's still the same, much to my extreme happiness.  He played an important role in our lives and it was important for me that my kids would meet him even just once.  He still considers us his own and I have no doubt still holds a very large very special place in his heart for our mom.  

  We visited our mom's grave the other day and put some flowers on her stone for Mother's Day.  I think there should also be Step-Parents Day.

  

Moving On With C &M

  The 2012 season opened in the middle of last month.  Here it is well into April and as usual the time on the road goes by like a shot.  We started off with some rain but the lots as of late have been flat & green and the crowds decent in size and generous with the applause.

  We took off for the first date in Oklahoma the day before opening so everyone had plenty of time to settle in and prepare for the the following day's matinee shows.  I had the pleasure of welcoming some of my friends from church on opening day.  It usually makes most performers a little jittery working with friends in the audience, but all went well in the opening performances, even the Pete II's debut.  His excitement and energy made me a little extra cautious but Pete wound up performing every behavior perfectly.  

  The show's running time is a good 90 minutes and includes a variety of acts. April's rolla bolla warms the crowd up quickly as she stacks up to 5 layers on her cylinder and board.  I have the pleasure of assisting her this season and we have some extra fun as we discreetly make silly inside jokes to each other.  She IS Phil Chandler's granddaughter...awesome sense of humor in the genes.  DJ Weiss eagerly works three clown spots in the show and does a fine job keeping smiles of every one's faces.  Two of his routines require audience participation and he has no trouble getting folks to help him out.  He wins the crowd over right away with his kid-like demeanor.  This is DJ's first mud show and he's adapted quickly to its fast pace.  The coolest thing about this 20 year old is to see him put such effort and heart into what he does.  I predict he'll go far in the circus business.  This is the second season for my niece Paulina's big & little.  If you know Bubbie, you know she lives and breaths for horses.  She's been running the pony ride on the show for many years (even pounding stakes along side her dad) and is a stickler for detail when it comes to the care of all equine critters.  I've seen her carefully wipe the dust out of the ponies' nostrils and patiently braid the manes of Wyatt and Jasmine, her performers.  Being a detail-oriented person myself, I appreciate how the color her wardrobe perfectly matches the color of the bridles and the flowers in her hair match the flowers in the horses' manes.  Simone helps Mel Ray out in the whip cracking act again this year.  MR is fun to be around and easy to get along with in and out of the ring, so she gets a kick out of holding the targets for his act.  The act's cracking, snapping and fast pace keeps the show upbeat and moving right along.  Lana , who turned 12 in February has been working the family's bird act for a few years now.  It's been my pleasure to see this act performed by Simone, Paulina and now Lana.  Her flowing dresses and pretty hair pieces add to the gentle feminine tone of the fan-tailed birds routine.  One of my very favorite things about ring mastering on this show is to watch my brother-in-law Ron perform with all the kids in the family's unicycle act.  Over the years he has one by one taught each of the kids how to ride.  They manage to effortlessly peddle their unicycles of all sizes over large plywood panels.  Although the stage is hinged together some of the unlevel lots create an unlevel riding area.  If Ron or any of the kids strain to keep the cycles rolling, you'd never know it.  Their routines change from time to time and are always, intricate, impressive and smooth.  Not to mention fun to watch.  Even twice a day, everyday. ;)  Simone's single trapeze is as strong and smooth as ever and is always delivered traditionally and professionally.  The Perez family has been a lot of fun to travel with over the years and are always upbeat, professional and easy to work with.  Karina's hula hoop act is first class and colorful, from each piece of her wardrobe to her well thought out routine.  Angel always puts 110% into his juggling act.  The family closes the performance with their high energy Russian swing.  By the time Angel jumps through the hoop and lands in the net for the final time, most audiences are catching their breath between rapid rounds of applause.  I once again have the extreme pleasure of sharing announcing duties with Simone.  There is ne'er a dull moment while working with her.  As I've said on more than one occasion, I know Dad would be so proud to see her carry in his footsteps. 

  Simone once said to me that I made her want to be a better performer.  That is probably the highest compliment I've ever been paid.  If that indeed is the case, I have to once again give all credit to Dad.  As he taught and influenced me in performing, I only hope I have passed down what I've been taught.   To quote a friend, "All I deserve is God's wrath.  It is only because of his mercy and grace that I am blessed."  Blessed indeed.  And thankful beyond words can express that I  love my work and work with those I love.  And to think I may have been some positive influence on my own niece...that's icing on the proverbial cake.  

   PS...Speaking of cake...guess who is running the cook house again this season.  Robin has outdone herself once again in the show's rolling kitchen.  She made an orange dream cake that I am proud to say I ate way too much of!  Stay tuned for cook house recipes...;)