>Circus Life

It's OK to fall while wearing tights, at least when your 15 years old and most of the people you know are circus folks, and oh yeah...there's a net! This shot is me flying at 15 in one of my first shows.

Growing up in Sarasota, Florida (Circus City) it was easy to get involved in the Circus. Ringling Bros and several other shows have made their winter homes in the area since the early 1900's. Lots of our friends were 2nd and 3rd generation circus family kids with either a flying rig, trap frame or wire to walk on in their backyard.
Not much baseball or football went on in my neighborhood but there was a lot of swinging, hanging and tumbling on the weekends. Willy Edelston an ex-circus flyer ran a gymnastics clinic at the local high school on Wednesday nights which I joined and eventually did pretty well in. When the Jr. Olympics came to Sarasota I represented our area on high bar and rings placing 1st on the bar and 2nd in rings. Before I knew it Willy had me up on the pedestal of a flying rig learning how to swing and throw tricks into the net. The net being some 35' below the trick level that is. It was pretty cool for sure with bumps, net burns and tore out hands as a side benefit.

The following year Willy encouraged me to join the Sailor Circus officially which pretty much became my life for the next 6 years. Yours truly lifting 3 close friends Jerry, Karen and Vicki. We did home shows, road shows, TV shows, heck I was even the Wonderbread boy in a commercial back then. Vicki Edelston and I did a tumbling routine to the camera then the tag line..."Builds strong bodies 12 ways!" It was a real blast being part of that era, great friendships were built that I am proud to say many still exist.

That's also where I met a really cute young circus girl (She's the one on the front sitting on the bars) who did the 5 person bike act and several other production acts. I was her web sitter for 2 years and kissed her for the first time beside a newspaper stand in Leesburg, Florida on a roadshow. She still hangs with me after all these years and still refers to me after 33 years of marriage as her first husband.

There was always a shortage of guys so most of us ended up in multiple acts. I did hand balancing with Willy's son Tommy - plus tumbling, flying, casting and a few clown acts now and again. The photo is Willy on the left, Tommy doing the handstand, and myself. Those years were a great experience and as anyone who has been in the circus will tell you "once you've walked in the sawdust it gets in your blood forever."

Sooo...the best part about being willing to wear tights and drop into a net from 40' off the ground...I married that circus girl and she still seems to think I'm that guy she fell in love with all those years ago on the trapeze. Yep...she needs glasses.