Category Archives: Life

Circus and Politics

Clown History, Clowns, Life, Uncategorized, , ,

Happy First of May!

The First of May is, in circus tradition, considered the first day of the year wagons will be able to make it along the trails without gettting stuck in the mud. The beginning of earning season! People who wanted to be part of the circus found this the best entry point. As in any job, the new hires are the greenest. The least experienced. The “dumbest” when it comes to the ways of the circus, which has many specific customs, methods, dangers, vernacular phrases, and other idiosyncrasies. The new hires are known as “First of Mays,” and as human nature can often be, when they inevitably mess up (or get pranked upon), they provide entertainment for the more experienced cast/crew.

In March of 2019, our nation was in the throes of a very distasteful political climate. As a former circus performer, I found myself feeling trauma to my psyche every time “Circus” and “Washington DC” were put into the same sentence. I poured my anguish into a meme, which resonated with my extended circus family all over the world and got shared thousands of times on social media. I guess it touched a nerve.

So as a shameless, but lazy self promoter, I share it here for the web, where social media doesn’t go so search engines can make me famous again. Have at it, Googlebots!

Photo of Lou Jacobs, beloved, iconic Ringling Bros. circus clown for over 60 years.

Text for accessibility:
People keep referring to happenings in Washington DC as a circus.
For the record, I worked for Ringling Bros.for a significant part of my career.
Everything was run tightly and efficiently with no room for bullshit.
(well, there was every other type of shit, but only in the literal sense)
Furthermore, a circus is made up of people from all over the world: male, female, straight, gay … We worked hard, were tough as nails, and we looked after each other.
Artists, athletes, lighting/sound techs,vendors, riggers, prop handlers, train crew, and shit shovelers all worked together for a common goal.
If this country were run like a circus, our problems would disappear overnight.

Hello, New York!

Life, Stories, , , ,

So, about 3 months ago, The Wife and I packed up our cats and moved to Brooklyn, NY, after nearly a lifetime in Maryland.

Rich next to grafitti reading, "The Rich Killed NYC"
I didn’t do it!

Three months. And I’m still unpacking. But then, we were in the house in Maryland for 24 years and I never fully unpacked there either, so…

My first act as a New Yorker was to rent a storage locker.

The Wife and I refer to it — not as something cute like “the shed,” or “the garage,” or “the attic,” but rather, “The Saviour.” Without it, we’d be crucified (or at least squashed akimbo) by all the plastic tubs full of our worldly, semi-useful belongings. As it is, I’m struggling to find wall in my tiny apartment office (which a couple New York friends have called “palatial.”) And our previous house was tiny, by suburban Maryland standards.

Since moving, I’ve been knocking on doors, meeting people, buying coffees, and exploring shows and venues. I’ve done some performing, including some traveling back to Maryland for extant gigs.

In Big Apple, however I’m gathering much information about what opportunities exist in this city of 8.6 million people, but there’s still a few fire hoses to drink from. Probably the most notable work I’ve done is a number of dates with The National Circus Project, teaching circus skills to children. Not the end goal, but honest work.

More later; just saying hi to the blogosphere. So hi!