The New Ones...

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Part Rott/Heeler, my Sui dog has no place else to chillax except for in close proximity to practice. Where sometimes ground score treats can be found. That's Otto on his seat.

Pete II

  Practicing with new dogs can lead to some pleasant surprises.  This was the case when I worked with Pete II and Benji yesterday.  These guys are about 8 months old now and their personalities couldn't be more different. Their mother Charlotte is a natural-born performer.  She's a mini Spitz with the typical athletic shape and sweet spirit Spitz are known for.  She's got a quiet strength and is a little on the stubborn side.  But these qualities all work for her and her job in the show and her ranking the doggie hierarchy.  

  Pete II is the largest of Charlotte's offspring.  He's also the most like his mama.  It took him a few minutes to figure out how to get on his seat and he was so excited to get his jackpot treat he slid off his seat a few times.  After a few minutes he figured out if he remained calm and stayed on his seat his treats would go from jackpot to mega-jackpot!  He is a natural at sitting up.  I was amazed to see him sit up so easily and steadily on his seat!  His paws perfectly positioned and perfectly even. 

  Next I worked with the smallest of the three boys, Benji.  He's got a very sweet expression and is very shy.  It took a while for him to warm up to me and only recently has he let me pick him up and spend time with him without his brothers and Charlotte.  He's still a little timid when I retrieve him from the pen. But once I pick him up he stays in my arms and as I speak to him in a calm tone and massage under his neck.  I showed Benji how to get on his seat and he instantly hopped up like he'd done it a hundred times.  What an awesome surprise!  I tested his ability to sit up and he was as natural a Pete II.  I appears that I have the making of two circus stars on my hands!  

  I also took some time to hone some behaviors with Dixie II and Otto during practice.  These two have worked out so well on the road and all the dogs really love the attention they get from the audience, especially Otto the ham.  I look forward to seeing how the new boys will react when they finally do appear in the act.  It's one of those things that you just can't predict.  There's really no telling exactly how a new dog will work out until it's showtime.  You can practice all day long in a variety of locations and environments, but it is the show that tells the proverbial tale.

  Tomorrow I will work with Freddie.  He's the loudest and most friendly and playful of the boys.  Since all of these guys are also natural born high jumpers there are hoops and hurdles in their future.  But the time for seeing where all of their talents lie is a "ways off."  I'm anxious to keep working with the boys and watch them progress and as I put it, learn how to use their brains.  

  Dogs have been domesticated for a lot of years and have worked along side man. Like us, they need a purpose, a job, boundaries & rules, and they need to know their place in the world.       

More Random Photos (later in the season) 2011

My nephew Christopher Dubsky, born 10/17/11

C&M Halloween party 10/21 Noel, Scott Moss, Lana, Mo, Paulina

C&M costume party  despicable them...Noah, Lana & Ron

Carvings...Paulina, Lana, Toot, Noah, Georgia, Noel

At Mo's...Lana, Paulina, me & Mo (this picture would NOT edit)

Guess who!

Last day on C&M 2011

Me, DJ Weiss, Simone

C&M costume party  me, Toot & Simone

Paulina's birthday   Lana, Simone, Paulina, Ron, Robin & Noah

C&M costume party Karina & Angel Perez with winning pumpkins

Lunch at Subway (where's Dar??!)

New Dogs, New Tricks

Beau (front), Delta (left), Charlotte, (right), Dixie II (facing rear, Otto hidden on other side)

Benji, Pete II, Freddy

  Another day started around 6:30am or so.  I could definitely feel the extra hour of sleep and it was very welcomed.  The girls remained sound asleep as I started my morning routine of coffee, tending to the dogs, coffee and coffee.  I was waiting on a call from my KM friend Valerie to see when she would be available to visit today.  She and her family were headed to south Florida for the winter sometime very soon.  As I got myself and the kids ready for Sunday school Valerie called and we made tentative arrangements to meet in town later this afternoon.  

  The first Sunday of every month my church has a fellowship luncheon after services.  There's always tons of good food and good company.  Georgia loves the luncheons because it gives her a chance to play with some of her buddies outside of school.   When we got home I checked on the dogs and realized that tomorrow would mark the first day of my scheduled practices.

  I plan to have two practice sessions a day.  I'll be teaching new tricks to new dogs & seasoned dogs as well.  I'm anxious to get started and see which dog will be proficient at which behavior.  Charlotte and Dixie II did very well their first year on the road.  Dixie II was always ready to perform and often made the audience and other performers laugh with her bouncy eagerness when she rolled the barrel.  Charlotte played the role of dedicated mommy to Otto as she pushed the baby buggy in which he rode.  Very fitting for a mommy of three lively puppies.  These girls will learn more behaviors this winter along with Otto who I plan to play the role of super dog next season.  Beau will travel along with us and may be a seat warmer from time to time but his actual performing days ended yesterday at the circus festival performances.  There are three male puppies remaining from Charlotte's litter.  I named one Pete II (after my original who passed away from pemphigus earlier this year),  Georgia named the smallest one Benji and my niece Lana called one Freddy, after a character in one of her favorite shows, I Carly.  These guys are all very sweet, friendly and are getting to the right age to where I can do a little something with them.  Pete II has the quietest and sweetest disposition and is a little shy like his mom.  All of these guys have easy-to-maintain coats, also like their mom.  This is a huge bonus for me and cuts way down on grooming time.  (I groom them all twice a day before each show.)  Since each dog has a different texture to their fur, some take much longer to groom than others.  I've never raised puppies before and this year has been a real experience for me in that regard.  It will be interesting and fun to see how each one progresses in their behaviors.  I'll of course continue to post details on the training sessions and how they come along.

  Valerie couldn't make it to Paris this afternoon so she asked if there was any way I could come up to Hugo.  When I got to KM winter quarters I not only had the pleasure of catching up with Valerie (we realized we hadn't seen each other in over a year) but I got to visit with Sara Greene too.  We all sat outside in front of Sara's trailer chatting away about just about everything that came to mind.  Reyna came by to drop off some things she'd borrowed from Valerie. She joined us in conversation for a bit before she headed out for an errand.  We sat munching away on pistachios chattering & laughing for a couple hours.  The time went by way too fast and before I knew it I was on my back to Paris. 

Otto, Dixie II, Beau, Delta and Charlotte (facing rear)

  Kids in bed, caught up on Facebook & blog and research on animal behaviors.  Tomorrow, dog training.  

Working in the Winter

Toot's clown face, complements of Reyna Moss. (Reyna is due with her first girl in early Dec ! )

  Today was the 3rd annual Circus City Museum & Park festival.  It featured traditional midway circus attractions, concessions, face painting and three 20 minute circus performances.  The souvenir table had all kinds of CCM merchandise including t-shirts and a cookbook with recipes from circus folks and circus cookhouses.  (I contributed a recipe along with my sister Robin who shared several personal and cookhouse dishes.)

  Last Sunday my KMC friends John and Reyna Moss, along with their boys Johnny & Nathan and Reyna's aunt Maria accepted my invitation to church services here in Paris.  Afterwards, we had a great time at lunch catching up on the last 8 months.  During our visit John made mention of the upcoming festival and asked if I'd like to co-host the 3 shows with him.  I happily accepted his invitation and also agreed to perform the dog act.

  I got up early this morning and prepared to be gone for most of the day.  Since I made a list of what I thought I'd need today, I was sure to take everything from juice boxes & diapers to raw hides & leashes.  With Radar's help we were packed, fed and headed to Hugo by 10:15am.  That gave plenty of time to set up, consult John about the rundown and change for the show.  As John pointed out, ringmasters rarely get to work together, but today I had the pleasure of working alongside John and Brad Lee from Carson & Barnes.  The performances featured aerial, animals, acrobats and my buddies Steve & Ryan.  It was a lot of fun watching Steve's schlemiel to R. Combs' schlemazle as they attempted to "paint" the outside of the museum.  Their slap-stick has been honed to perfection so all the knocking around, eye poking and 108-ing are virtually painless for these dudes.  We had many conversations on KM about comedy, comedians and what's timeless and what's not.  And as my dad used to say, violence is funny.  "Why do you think the Stooges are still popular after all these years?" I remember him saying.  He was right.  It's always funny when someone (else) runs into a pole, falls down or gets hit on the head with an Acme anvil.  Of course it's all in good circus clown fun!

 There was some time between shows for the kids to enjoy the midway and for the performers to visit.  John and Jim Royal were discussing  Hoxie Bros. as John was recently perusing a copy of Mud Show.  Jim jokingly asked me if I happen to know any ringmasters from the old HBC days.  John asked what seasons Dad spent on the show and though I couldn't remember exactly how long he was there I did remember 1974 was one of the years.  I went on to explain that I vividly remember imitating Dad's opening, "Welcome to the 1974 edition of the Hoxie Bros. Circus!" in my sister's and my imaginary backyard circus complete with imaginary microphone.

  Today was a little bittersweet for me in the sense that it would mark Beauregard's last performance.  Since his vision is getting progressively worse he won't be able to see at all by next season. (Beau has progressive retinal atrophy.)  I've been asked if I'd keep him after he's no longer working.  I consider my dogs working partners, pets and friends...of course I'll keep big Beau!  His lack of vision hasn't changed his personality one bit.  He's still the alpha male and keeps the three male pups (now 8 months old) in line.  He may be getting old & going blind, but Beau's still the master of his domain and reminds the other dogs on a daily basis.

Simone visited the festival!  Georgia in face paint, me, Dar & Arwen (who helped me in the dog act).

  A couple hours after the festivities the Circus City Showman's Club met at the local VFW.  Plans were made for other upcoming activities & get-togethers which Radar filled me in on later.  My kids and I were pretty beat at the end of the day so we headed for a quick bite to eat and then home. Toot made it 1 mile south of Hugo before she fell sound asleep.  Once home, I unloaded the kids, the dogs and the props and then settled in on the sofa with sleeping Toot still in he clown face paint.  Georgia & I had a good time laughing for an hour at America's Funniest Home Videos.

  It wasn't just another busy off-season day, it was a busy, fun and pretty special.  Now, time for bed.

The End & The Beginning, In That Order

  Well, the season came to an end on Culpepper & Merriweather almost two weeks ago.  Since the girls and I have been home we've been on-the-go almost everyday. Between moving back into the house, school, errands, catching up with my KM friends, sending off my CM friends & family and miscellaneous repairs and projects the last...however many days we've been home, have gone by like a shot. Soon though, we'll be nice and settled.

  Needless to say, the girls and I are glad to be home and will get readjusted to town life soon.  I've always felt we have the best of both worlds. The circus gives us a chance to see the country, visit historical places, enjoy a variety of beautiful scenery, climates and meet people from many walks of life.  The off-time allows opportunities to rest up, practice, revamp or make new wardrobe and just enjoy staying in one place for a while.  Since Georgia is home schooled on the road and attends public school in the winter, I think she gets the best of both school worlds. 

  I have some projects planned for the winter break, including turning the play room into Georgia's bedroom, mending wardrobe and of course practicing a new routine for next year.  I'll need a couple of new dog seats as I plan to add at least one new dog and replace one old dog seat. The props will also be redecorated.  

  What we are really looking forward to is our upcoming trip to Florida in December!  We will head to St. Augustine in mid-December and stay for about 5 days or so. I'm excited to attend my niece's wedding and also to show Georgia around my old stomping grounds.  I lived in the nation's oldest city from 1980 to 1991.  It's a beautiful city that boasts a slew of historical sites. The beauty of its beaches and the downtown scenery at night is hard to beat. After we leave St. Augustine we'll drive south to visit my family in Gib-town over Christmas.  I haven't been home since 2008.  I'm anxious to be with my family over the holidays and can't wait to see my new nephew, Christopher! 

  Radar arrived today and the girls and I were glad to welcome him back!  It didn't take Toot long to warm back up to Dar and Georgia is super happy to hang with her "big bro" for a while.  We missed our KM buddies Steve and Ryan & Tatiana this season.  We got a kick out of watching Tootie and baby Combs play together. At one point Toot tried her hand at feeding Nico his bottle!  Last week we made plans to have them all down for steaks tonight.  I had no idea it'd work out great to coincide with Dar's return!  We had lots of laughs and lots of fun catching up on the last 8 months.  I only wish my Culpepper buddy DJ Weiss had been here to join in on the jokes, banters, quips and general "smarty pantsedness!"

  Work, fun and rest is on the rundown for this winter break.  

Our Friend M.R.

  Mel Ray Siverlake's family and my family have known each other for many years. We've worked together off and on with circuses and carnivals.  There are lots of Silverlakes and I've

had the pleasure of working with Jimmy, Joe and Myrna, to name a

few. In fact, Myrna had the cookhouse my first year on KM, and I was

her purchasing agent for the last several months of the tour. Since

she had once worked with Spitz like me, I sought her advice from time

to time on the breed and my routine. In fact, she gave me the best

advice I'd ever received when I had trouble keeping a hyper

seat-warmer in place. Her exact words were, "Well, I guess the thing

to do is not to worry about it." She was right. Constantly checking in on

Pete made it difficult to pay close attention to the rest of the dogs

that performed more tricks in the show. When I decided to stop fretting over Pete's

possible spastic behavior the act seemed to go much better.

  Myrna is Mel Ray's aunt on his dad's side. All the Siverlakes are

experienced in many facets of the circus & carnival industries. M.R. is no

different. When the whole gang heads to town for errands or a

bite to eat, most of the town people recognize us strangers as being

with the circus. When they ask us what we all do, each of

us answer quickly as most of us have one or two

primary jobs. When M.R. responds, it's usually with a pause followed by a laundry

list of regular and semi- regular duties. Now, we all kind of laugh as he's shortened

his response by saying, "A few different things..."

A few is more like several. Although M.R. says this season has been pretty laid-

back for him. Hard to imagine. He's come to my family's aid on a daily basis by helping

unload the heavy equipment for Robin in the cookhouse every morning. He is also instrumental in helping me set up my mammoth steel-bound dog pen. Mel also has the snake show on the midway and performs in the show.He helps B.J. in the concession stand and delivers cookhouse plates to the performers who don't have 

time to get their food while it's still hot.  He also drives the pole truck.

  Mel gets his good nature from B.K. and his wild sense of humor from Col. Mel along with an affinity for movies and the old west. After working with R & R's family, my dad here & there over the years and being Kids Fun Fair's all-around go-to guy, M.R. has fallen right into my families crazy sayings, crazier sense of humor and is fluent on Chandlerisms and general family lingo and nick names.

Simone, Lana, me and M.R.  C&M Circus 2011

 

 

 

 

  It would probably be easier to list capacities in the circus and carnival M.R. has not filled. From ride jockey, general manager, circus clown, ring master and animal guy and big top boss, there's not much amusement ground he hasn't covered. In addition to his actual circus duties, M.R. has helped me and my girls out so much this season, it would be impossible to repay him. Being a single girl on the circus is a challenge. Add two kids and lots of dogs and I've got my hands happily full!  Mel's come to our aid many times in everything from fixing broken landing jacks to making sure the truck has plenty of water & oil. We all do our running together, usually on Mondays and I'm always happy to taxi the gang around. I've bought him lunch a few times when the gang has lunch, although usually he insists that I don't. With everything he's helped the girls and me with this season, I'm not sure how we could ever reciprocate his good deeds. M.R. is not about doing things to glorify himself and is not a fair-weather friend. He and my family talk forever on everything from movies, actors, old and new circus, carnival rides, comedy teams and politics. We always have something to talk about and this year have forged a stronger bond in friendship.

  All that being said, I think the thing that holds M.R. in high esteem in my family is a selfless act he performed back in 2002. My dad had been sick from a variety of ailments back then and we were all certain his time was limited. One night he turned in early while my family & friends remained in the living room to finish watching a "nightly film feature." (Chandlerism)  Lauren was quickly alarmed at not being able to detect a breath.

Mel Ray raced to the bedroom with my sisters, et al and performed CPR and chest compressions in an effort to help dad regain consciousness. Despite is very best efforts, it was just Dad's time. We've all expressed our sincere gratitude for this many times over the years. But there are some debts that just cannot be paid in words, materiel possessions or deeds.

Thank you for everything Mel Ray.

Your friends,

The vast Chandler clan

Summer 2011

Praying Mantis on top of the City Museum
St. Louis, MO

  The season is about to wind down here in a few weeks and I have to say, in all it has been a very good year for my kids and me.  This show is very unique in the sense that there is a strong feel of family, even between those who are not related.  Since this was my first season on the road by myself, I'm thankful for the having spent the year here for that very reason.  There really is a sense of community & welcome mixed with fun on the off-time and a spirit of hard work to make the shows happen. 


Right to left: "Stilts" Volponi, Melvino, me
front: Tootie, Georgia, Noah & Lana.
Karina, Gg and Angel Perez joined us on our
night time adventures!

 One of many summer community pool trips



  In the last few months since I've posted on my blog we've traveled through Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois where we always have the pleasure of meeting up with circus fans who give us stellar treatment.  Many times this season we have been greeted my welcoming fans who bestow goodies and good cheer.  It is appreciated more than they know.  This part of the country is very beautiful and the trips from town to town in our Midwestern run are usually pretty short and flat.  That's a nice change of pace from the mountainous regions we maneuver in the first several months of the tour.  The summer seemed pretty short but the heat was manageable.  The lush green lots in MN and WI do give way to the dreaded giant mosquitoes in the evening.  We fought that battle with plenty of Off and citronella candles.  Summer on the circuses also mean trips to Culver's for ice cream, walks (and jogs) through parks where the kids burn off the energy I wish I had and community pools.  When the community pools were scarcely found, my brother-in-law Ron and I would set up our inflatable pools side by side for all the kids to splash around.  We made good use of them this year, in fact Georgia's whale-shaped pool finally met it's end at the end of summer, no doubt due to excess use! The last few weeks we spent time in Missouri where we met up with old friends and some former C&M co-workers I hadn't seen in a while.  It's always more fun to catch up in person than on Facebook. We spent a few days in the St. Louis area where we took not one but TWO trips to the City Museum!  What fun...for children of all ages!  I can't describe what it's like...it's an old shoe factory that's been turned into a kind of indoor family amusement climbing place.  You can climb on almost anything there.  There are arts & crafts rooms, giant fish tanks, caverns and  many unique slides. My favorite was the 10 story indoor spiraling slide!  There was also a circus display and a magic show that we caught just in time for Georgia to be chosen from the audience as the lovely assistant! Boy, would Dad be beaming with pride!  I was!  On the roof of building sits a Ferris wheel where Noah & Lana comforted me as I white knuckled my way through that ride.  There's a giant roof-top slide that we enjoyed over & over...I got a heck of a friction burn on my elbow from that slide!  There's a school bus that hangs partially over the corner of the building where you can sit and enjoy your food and/or drink and another super fast small slide I was too chicken to navigate. A giant statue of a praying mantis sits on top of it all that just looks too cool.  We were all so exhausted after our final trip to the museum and talked about hopefully returning next year as we hadn't scratched the surface of what the City Museum has to offer. Rest assured, we came home with souvenirs-a-plenty!  Definitely a season high-point!

  Along with the excess activity comes excess physical ailments from time to time.  We've fared everything from summer colds to pulled muscles and trips to the chiropractor.  My sister Robin and I have both had siactic nerve problems this year.  She threw herself off kilter by getting in the driver's side of her truck "with gusto," as she put it, and has been paying the price and the chiropractors for the last couple of months.  My left hip has been acting up from carrying Toot around on that side.  Since I'm right-handed she always goes on my left and as a result have made a few trips to get adjusted.  The last doctor was able to treat Robin & I on the same visit which was convenient and kind of fun.  This chiropractor was very thorough and didn't treat us with one foot out the door, clipboard in hand.  She even treated my jacked-up shoulder with acupuncture which was painless and effective.  Robin and I will no doubt be making a few more visits to chiropractors before we hit home and will surely be pain free before winter quarters.
  This is our first day in Oklahoma and I have to say, it's a good feeling to near home.  The weather's turned rainy and the official first day of autumn is right around the corner. As my dad used to say, "Where do the ducks go?"
  South for the wintertime...

 More to come and thanks for checking in.





Finally had the pleasure of seeing circus fan/historian
Bill Prickett again after many years.