Where I've Been

Well, it's been a weird two weeks. Amongst my time spent at Circus Flora watching rehearsals and trying to pin down performers for interviews, plus dealing with tech issues at home (DSL gone down, print server bit the dust, home network gone wonky), I also interviewed for job in Flagstaff, Arizona. I had not felt exceedingly confident about the phone interview, and pretty much wrote off getting the job at all.

Then they called me back. They are flying me out to a second interview in about a week. I am the only candidate they are talking to after the first round. I cannot tell you the kinds of nervous this makes me. This would mean a 1400 mile move from my comfort zone in Missouri to something completely new and different. Not bad different, just different. It means uprooting my whole family, it means lots and lots of changes. The advantages are that Flagstaff is a spectacular place to live, I'd be going from working at a two-year college to working at a four-year college, that I'd get to do what I love most (adaptive technology) full-time (right now I am doing that with two other jobs tacked on). It means a "fresh start" and a new adventure. It means a great virtually free education for my kids, it means a big pay raise (almost $10K more), it means lower health care insurance costs. Lots and lots of advantages and I can think of very few disadvantages.

My stomach has been in knots all week and I can't sleep without dreaming about all sorts of weird scenarios. Not much writing or even thinking about writing has been done.

Circus Flora opened tonight and I had thought I would go, but I worked too late, then met a friend at Barnes and Noble to encourage her as she's writing for Script Frenzy, then got home and had to nap in the chair for a bit before I could cook dinner. So maybe I'll go one night next week, that looks like my best chance. I do have tickets for the 2 p.m. show on the 16th, with my husband and the little one. The big ones don't want to go. Too bad for them.

There was a cute article in the paper today about the show, which made me giggle. I'm sure you'd enjoy it to. Be sure to check out the sidebar on the right-hand side for the funny little bios they wrote about some of the performers (both animal and human).

Connecticut Elephant Legislation killed

As the legislative session in Connecticut neared its close, the legislation intended to outlaw the use of the Bullhook was never brought to a vote. The sponsor of the bill admitted that she didn't have the needed votes to even consider asking for the floor to hear her issues. She has promised to renew the bill next year.

We'll see. But for now, many in the circus community are thrilled that the legislation did not pass; no circus with animals would have been able to perform in Connecticut if this measure had passed. If the bill is revived, then another round of letter-writing and public education about the use of the bullhook will ensue, I'm sure.

Interview with Nino Part II

I had the chance to sit down and talk with Nino for about a half-hour on Wednesday before he had to dash off to Home Depot for more parts for the leaking trailer, and then there was a group rehearsal of the opening act of the circus. He is so understated and so quiet, yet underneath runs an intensity that you can literally feel. He is also always in motion; a leg shaking, running his hands through his hair, twiddling with something on the table, etc. Always in motion. He said several things that stuck with me, one is "circus is family" and "I'm passionate about circus."

While I was waiting to talk to him, I stood and looked around, observing the small details I might have missed if I'd been sitting in the interview. Nino's trailer is erected in a small corner of the Circus Flora lot, a bit of an enclave if you will, like a small Italian piazza in the shape of a U. One arm of the U is Nino's trailer, the lower part of the U is a large shiny horse trailer with an awning and portable stalls set up alongside it for the three horses Nino's sister Tosca rides in the show. The other side of the U is Tosca and her husband Jay's trailer, a large 5th-wheel. The top of the U is a portable picket fence, painted a brilliant white, which then forms the courtyard of their piazza. As I stood inside the picket fence, I could see through Tosca's trailer, and in one window was an elaborate candle holder, with 8 candles on spindles of wrought iron, each platform decorated with tiny windchimes. The trailer was "home" and she had it made up to be the home she needed it to be.

I mentioned the "homey" atmosphere of their area and Nino informed me that he lives in his trailer 12 months out of the year, so it is his only "home." The Klown often teases me, saying I'd never make it on a show full time, that I could never live in a trailer. I suspect he is right...staying in that tiny trailer in Wisconsin for a mere week with Klown and three kids nearly drove me insane. I felt like I had nowhere to sit, or get away from the noise, or from people. I can't imagine living like that full-time, no matter how big the trailer.

I will write later about other things I observed during the rehearsal. It was an interesting hour.

Nino Interview, Part I

I dragged my hubby, The Klown, with me to the Circus Flora grounds for my Nino interview. When we got there Nino immediately introduced himself to me although we'd never formally met. But he knew my name so that was cool. Things were crazy, though, one of the trailers he'd brought up was having a major leaking problem that needed to be fixed, and his sister needed to rehearse and he is part of their act. So we did get to talk, for like five minutes, then we watched them rehearse for a bit. It was after 8, we needed to get home, so I scheduled to come back on Wednesday while he was between rehearsals. We'll see what I get. It will be neat to see the rehearsals, though, as I've never gotten to experience anything like that before.

Nino apologized over and over about not really being able to spend much time with me, but I reassured him...the truth is I NEED to see everything. Even if it's just down time or waiting time or initial rehearsals or seeing how they all live. It's all stuff I can use.

And let me tell you, he shook my hand about three or four times, and it's like getting squeezed in a vice! I'm going to remember not to wear rings on my right hand. OW!

Well, so much for THAT.

Stupid me. I left the flash drive with my novel on it on my desk at work when I left Friday. And the office is closed the entire weekend. No chance in hell to go get it so I can work on my novel.

I would use the backup copy but it's about a week old and 5,000 words less and I don't want to have two versions going at once. I even saw it there and told myself not to forget it. Honestly, I couldn't wait to get out of there, so of course I left it behind.

It's not that I don't have other things to do. I do. I just didn't want to do them. Now I have no excuse. At least I have my interview with Nino to look forward to on Monday night.

My new logo

This should be my new logo.

This ball of net was rolled up near a trailer that presumably housed the flying trapeze equipment and rigging. Since it was outside, and the trap was being set up under the tent...then the trap act was Without A Net.

Okay, I thought it was funny.

Circus Flora

I spent two hours at lunchtime today at the Circus Flora grounds. The roof of the tent was up and day laborers were putting in the floorboards of the bleachers. The Fabick tractor people were setting up the giant external air conditioners. There were miles and miles of electrical cables stacked up on a pallet, and miles and miles of coiled vent hoses flattened out like old Chinese lanterns, waiting for placement.

I got the chance to talk with the General Manager, Holly Harris. She was in and out and back and forth and around and not around for the two hours I was there. I probably got ten minutes with her all-told. But what I got from her was good, and I'm going to go back and get more from her at some point. I spent a lot of time just watching and looking around and especially looking for small details. I found spray-painted marks on the ground marking where trailers were to be put up, and who those trailers belong to.

I think this paint was from last year, because I watched Nino pull in his Airstream, and he parked it nowhere near these markings. But still, it was cool, and I walked around looking at all the trailer marks.

Inside the tent, while the day laborers worked on the bleachers, Willy Page of the Flying Pages was setting up the rigging for the flying trapeze act. Willy is the catcher, probably the most important role in trapeze work. I introduced myself to him and asked a few questions. Yes, I said something dumb, too, but it wouldn't be me if I hadn't said something dumb. There was a giant outdoor thermometer at the top of the tent, and it read somewhere around 90 degrees.



Outside it as gusty windy, about 83 degrees, with a hazy sun. I asked Willy if it was hot working up there but he said the air conditioned tent was easy to work in. He also said he liked working in the warmth, that all performers did, it kept their muscles loose and warm. I mentioned sweaty palms and he said "plenty of chalk."

I know I'd sweat to death at the top of the tent, with the lighting and all the heat rising, and the sun having beat down all day long on the dark-colored tent.

I hope to go back tomorrow and watch some more. The bleachers will probably be done tomorrow, and more rigging will go into place. Most of the performers will be arriving in the next two days so that rehearsals can start. Watching the rehearsals would be incredible, if I can get to do it. We'll see.

Circus Flora Tent going up!

Circus Flora opens in about three weeks. Today I checked with one of my contacts and found out the tent was going up TODAY. Dang it. Not a day I could just take off and go down there to watch it go up. Fooey. I did call the general manager, whose name and number I got from my contact, and she said to come on down tomorrow or the next day, that things would be progressing slowly. The tent is up but the ring needs to be built and the floor boards put in and the bleachers erected. She also agreed to an interview. whoo!

Of course, work is pretty bothersome right now, we've had problems with our emergency cell phone that is our on-call phone. The bright minds at our main office decided to change our cell phone service from one company to another, without taking time to check if the new provider had service on our campus. They don't. The only place the damned phone works is in MY office, so therefore I've been on call for 9 days straight while the main office gets our service switched back to the old provider. I've been promised the phone will arrive via overnight and I will get it tomorrow. I am hoping it comes in the morning so I can bug out for the afternoon and spend some time on the grounds with my camera watching the goings on. Might even be able to catch a rehearsal, that would be really cool.

And my long-awaited interview with Nino the Clown is happening on Monday night at 6 p.m. My stomach is already in knots. What do I wear? What questions do I ask? Ohmygosh what if I make a fool of myself? LOL

It'll all be fine, I know it. I've spoken in front of thousands of people at once, surely I can interview one little ole clown at a time. Right?

Long Weekends

We're coming up on a nice long weekend here in the U.S. Any time I look at a weekend I hope against hope that I'll be able to get some writing done. It's spring, and I'm in one of my insomniac cycles, and all I can think about at night when I might have time to write is that I want to go to bed. I can sleep in the dark, but I can't sleep in the light, which means that at 4:00 a.m. when the birds start getting restless outside and the first pale light of dawn shows over the hill outside my bedroom window, I'm awake.

Not dozy awake.

Wide awake. I try to go back to sleep, but suddenly my body is restless, aches and pains roll through my joints, and I just have to get up. But my brain is exhausted, and I can sit in front of my computer and try to write for two hours but it's mostly incoherent gibberish, or simply no words at all, I just sit and stare at my screen.

And I really do want to sit and write. But if I can't get an hour all at once, without distractions, when I'm awake and don't have other things hanging over my head, it is just hard to get anything truly worthy done. I guess I'm in a bit of a funk.

So, this is a long weekend. We have plans for Sunday, going to the RenFaire, which is always fun. But Saturday is just laundry day, and Monday I have no plans. My husband is working, so maybe I will get a few words tapped out.

More Female Characters

I've been stuck on a scene in my book lately, actually two scenes. The first is the Fiesta scene, where I have to get my female main character onto the dance floor dancing a group dance with the other women, and an earlier scene where she accompanies some of the circus people to a bar on payday.

I realized that as I was writing the Fiesta scene, I had no women friends attached to my FMC who could drag her onto the dance floor at the appropriate time. All of the connections she's made at this point, about a week into her Circus journey, have been men. The majority of women on circuses are in performance art; my FMC is not a performer and therefore wouldn't be interacting too directly with most of the performers, especially at this early stage of the story.

So I created a female character to fill this role, and my FMC meets her at the bar night. I am so happy with the dynamic I've set up between the FMC, the wardrobe guy, and the public relations guy, that inserting this fourth character still feels odd. Square peg in round hole. I'm sure I'll grow to like it later.

Writing Frenzy

I am getting a considerable amount of writing done these last few days. I could have done more, it's been really slow at work, but I have a hard time writing anything consistently at work. Too many distractions between the phone ringing and email coming in and the students chattering away. It probably didn't help that it is finals week, as well, which means the overall energy on campus is testy.

I had a day off today but I'm just now sitting down to write, and it's going on 3 p.m.! I've gotten distracted going shopping, then making capuccino, then eating some lunch, then doing a load of wash... I can find all kinds of reasons not to write.

But now I can't put it off any more. Time to get down to busness.

Good Writing Time

My weekend went way too fast with me not really finishing everything I wanted to finish. But on the plus side, I did get to put in some great hours writing. I got a couple good hours at a Breadco on Sunday while my kid was doing some LARP stuff. And last night I got a good couple hours in after supper when the house was relatively quiet.

I have just found out that I will be at work tonight until 10, and that means I will have time to write tonight, too. Of course, it means I get nothing done at home tonight, and that part bugs me. But, what can you do. Work is work, right?

Animal Trainer Interview

I had the pleasure of interviewing another animal trainer this morning. Linda Roberson is currently working at Kay Rosair's animal preserve near Sarasota, Florida. She came to animal training late in her life, at age 40. She worked with animals in various circuses and expositions over the last 15 or so years. Linda is an animal activist of the positive kind; she believes strongly that if the United States, the richest country in the world, doesn't work hard to breed and replenish the elephant population, that our grandchildren may not ever even see a real elephant.

I think there is some value in what she says. Currently, the U.S. allows no importing of elephants for any purpose, and the gene pool of elephants being bred in the U.S. is quite limited at this point. We can continue to breed the ones we have, but that gene pool is going to become tainted at some point with so few to share around.

In addition to talking about animals, Linda was also forthcoming with other information. She strongly recommended my interviewing Alberto Zoppe, who is living currently in Arkansas. I know Alberto was inducted into the International Ring of Fame just this last month in Sarasota, Florida.

Linda spends time working as a paralegal when she isn't working with animals. It was her profession before she started working with elephants. She offered to hook me up with a lawyer she has worked for that works with writers and might be able to get me a publisher when my book is done. That is a very promising lead!

Exotic Animals

Over the last few months, I've been made aware of several instances across the country where a city, town, county, or even a state has tried to ban exotic animals. In some cases they are banning the owning of exotic animals. In others, they are banning the performance of/by exotic animals. Almost all of these actions focus on elephants, although some are broad enough to cover other exotic animals like cats and primates.

Many times, local SPCA or PETA groups are behind this action. Currently there is state legislative action in Connecticut (the home to many a circus winter quarters) and California, as well as Kaufman County, Texas, and Prince George City in British Columbia, Canada. There are, I'm sure, many others, but these are the biggies on radar at the moment.

I am so saddened by these actions on the part of our governments. I have met elephants, and there is no smarter, kinder, or gentler creature on the planet than them. A well-cared-for elephant in captivity lives generally twice as long as his or her wild counterpart, in a safe environment where there are no predators and there is good veterinary care and excellent food. In circuses, elephants (and other exotic animals) are fed better than the human performers. They receive regular medical care, have comfortable living quarters, and their trainers are like mother hens to them. Anyone who's been truly close to circus has seen this. I know I have, and I cannot imagine any trainer abusing an animal that has the strength to strike him or her dead in a heartbeat. It makes no sense at all for a trainer to abuse an animal; that animal is their livelihood.

I have to wonder about these groups who want to ban the exotic animals. It is as if they don't see the other animals in the circus, who are performing and who are kept in captivity and cages. What about all those horses? The Percherons and Belgian Mares and Shetland Ponies? What about the llamas and camels? And let's not forget the trained performing dogs, cats, and birds, too. There are a lot of animals performing in circus, not just elephants. Why are we not concerned with them?

If you're going to try to keep animals off the circus, then you'd better spend time getting all of them banned. It isn't fair to the elephants if we don't make the doggies go too.

I just wish a bit of reason would enter into these people's heads when it comes to how animals are treated in circuses. In truth, the animals are usually treated better than the humans!!

Two Interviews down...

Yesterday I had the immense pleasure of speaking with Bob Carabia, a circus musician (he plays saxophone and other woodwinds). Now mostly in retirement, Bob spent the majority of his young years in concert halls and playing rodeo bands. He was always enamored of the circus, and in 1996 got a chance to form a band and play for "Maine Dates" of Shriner circuses. According to him, he had died and gone to heaven. He was the band director for the three-week Shrine Circus in Detroit, a premiere event.

His biggest reason for not working in Circus any longer was because more and more circuses are moving to taped/digital music. I know this is true and many of the smaller shows are using all electronic music. Only the bigger shows are still using a band, and even then, sometimes the band is acting in support of electronic music rather than the other way around.

I know that Cirque du Soleil (not a real circus in my opinion) uses a band and no electronic music. Ringling uses both, as do Big Apple and Circus Flora. Mud shows for the most part aren't using any band at all.

Of course, in my circus, we will have a band. Since I'm aiming for a Circus Flora/Circus Chimera type of circus, I will be able to have a band. I lament the loss of live music in Circus as acutely as Mr. Carabia.

New Site Design

I changed the site design a bit, tweaking it a little. I hope the new look isn't messing anyone up. I thought it was appropriate to put up a circus picture. It is one I took of the Kelly Miller Circus setting up in September 2006.

On a side note, Kelly Miller was reported to be folding after the 2006 season. The Rawls family, who had operated the circus since 1984, were no longer interested in keeping the show going and wanted to retire. John Ringling North II stepped in to buy it and it is now touring the middle of the country. Kelly Miller winters in Hugo Oklahoma. Hopefully they'll be back in our area this fall, and we can see them again.

One Interview Down...

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Larry allen Dean (yes, he wants a small "a" in his middle name), self proclaimed "animal trainer extraordinaire." As someone else referred to him, "the animal trainer with three first names." Either way, I spent an enjoyable 2 hours listening to him talk about how he got into animal work, and what he enjoyed, and what he was doing now. Larry's great love is to work with big cats, although he's worked elephants, horses, and camels as well. I learned a lot. There may not be a lot of what he gave me that I can use, but the interview helped me to understand how a "contract" trainer can work with animals that don't belong to them.

This has been sort of a sticking point for me...it is hard for me to understand how a trainer can work with animals he didn't raise and doesn't own and didn't train him/herself. Where does his sense of responsibility for the care and feeding of the animals he works with come from? The bond may be there, but certainly not as strong a bond as would exist if the trainer had raised the animals or at least had a hand in their training from the beginning. But it happens all the time, so I guess it works.

I have found, too, that animals change owners quite often, and that about half the time, the owners aren't even animal trainers themselves, they are buying the act and hiring a contract trainer so they can make money on the act.

Larry rarely works on shows any more, although he was once quite a big name in Circus circles, including work on Ringling and Big Apple. He says that the the percentage contract trainers make these days is not enough to live on. He also sees fewer and fewer cat acts in circuses because there is such high overhead in maintaining them. Cats must eat every day, even when there are no shows. That's true for all animals. But in the case of big cats, there are a considerable number of ancillary services that must be paid for besides food and bedding. Cats require more security, more men to handle cages and wagons and feedings. While one man can take care of three elephants without a whole lot of trouble, one man cannot take care of the same number of cats without plenty of physical help.

Tomorrow I'm talking to a musician and a schoolteacher, with any luck.

More Great Interviews

So I have been on a bit of a tear of writing lately. It helps that The Klown is out of town for a few days and I have some pretty quiet evenings to get some things done. I decided to send out a call for help to a Circus Fan list and see what I could get by way of interviews. I have pretty much read all the books I can possibly read at this point, and I need real-life interviews to fill things out. I asked specifically for:

1. "Star" clowns - where there is only one clown or one major featured clown on a show (like a Belo, Nino, or David Lareble).
2. Anyone that has performed for Big Apple Circus.
3. Animal trainers/performers who do not own their animals, particularly elephants.
4. Performers that are not "stock" or born into the business.
5. Anyone who has worked on costumes/costuming for a smaller circus.
6. anyone who has been a school teacher on a show.
7. Anyone who has been on a show that experienced a natural disaster in the form of a tornado.

Boy, have I gotten responses! Some are pretty lame ("hey, buy my book, it has all your answers in it!") but some are really great. So far I've lined up solid interviews with two animal trainers, and a tentative booking with a ringmaster. I have also heard from a clown, a musician, and a schoolteacher! These are going to be major interviews for me, and should help me better round out some of the characters in my story.

I can't offer these people anything for their help. The best I can do is list them in my acknowledgments when I get done writing the book.

Inactive but Active

The work on Without A Net is slow and painful. But it is progressing. The story is not complete, which still leaves me with lots of holes to fill. Particularly I need to build in about two months of touring and shows with appropriate drama before coming to the conclusatory crisis of the tornado. And that's only one of the huge gaping plot holes in my story.

Hmmm, I think I just made up a new word. Hopefully you know what I meant.

I have a day at home today with two sick teenagers who don't have the energy to watch their baby sister. The Klown, aka Daddy, is out of town at a Clowns of American convention. So, a day off for me. I hope to get some writing done. I have the stereo loaded up with all my Gipsy Kings and Esteban CD's to get me in the mood. The little one is under the table next to me, sneaking pretzels and being exceedingly quiet, something I find greatly amusing.

Maybe it will be a productive day.

Minor Techie Update

I bought the domain without-a-net.com and have created a forward from it to my blog. So, if you want to update your bookmarks, the new address is http://www.without-a-net.com.

The old address still works just fine.

That is all, back to writing!