David's schtick is to pull supposedly regular people from the audience to participate in silly acts. Suzanne and I know these people are NOT audience members -- they're shills! Suzanne even recognized one of the shills from LAST year's circus! HAHAHA!

Roland left and did a little skippy dance with David WHILE THEY HELD HANDS. Suzanne and I thought this was HYSTERICAL! ("HAHAHA -- Men Holding Hands".) In fact, we STILL do! I started ad-libbing and singing to the tune of "Put your hand in the hand": "I held the hand of the midget clown who held the hand of David La-REE-blay!" Suzanne and I were both CRYING from laughing so hard!

The circus continued, and more men held hands. ;-)

"Ariana, the Human Arrow" -- was the big finale act. She was shot through the air like a, uh, well -- a Human Arrow. (Heh) We thought this kinda silly, but NOT silly enough to buy an Ariana doll at the concession stand. (They had David Larible dolls, too. But, alas, no Roland Hoffer dolls.)

Suzanne and I saw Michu at his U.S. circus debut about 25 years ago... We were THRILLED to see him AGAIN! Even more so because we thought he was DEAD! (About 23 years ago, I read a story in the newspaper about his death -- or so I thought. Suzanne remembered this article, too. Or so SHE thought. HAHAHA!)

Then, about five years ago, Suzanne read about Michael Jackson and CIRCUS MIDGET MISU visiting some kid in a hospital. The article had a pic and the midget looked EXACTLY like our Michu. {Who's MISU???}

"Geesh! What a flaming idiot," I said. (Suzanne gave me a dirty look.)

It was time for the circus finale -- that guy being shot out of a canon... We grasped our look-alike plastic toys when suddenly, an announcement: "Due to equipment malfunction, this act has been canceled. Sorry."

Out little, plastic "man being shot out of a canon" toy was now NO LONGER the Most Desirable Item. In fact, it was a TOTAL BUST.

Mark, who we'd seen in the circus before, is certainly NOT his father. IMHO, he can't train animals. They don't listen to him. Dad Gunther is always there -- incognito of course, in a black tux and glasses -- giving the lions and tigers their "secret cues"... The animals LISTEN to Gunther. They IGNORE Mark.

Since we had seats in the Very First Row -- right by the stage door -- we saw Gunther pass by us on his way out of the ring... Suzanne shouted out, AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS, "Mr. Gebel-Williams!" (So much for him trying to be "incognito". Heh) He turned around and she asked him for his autograph. Me, never one to be shy (heh), decided to Go For It and ask The $64,000 Question that had been on my mind since I first saw Mark take over daddy's act...

"Mr. Gebel-Williams, I've seen your son Mark perform many times, and EACH TIME, you're ALWAYS THERE in the background talking to your animals... I know you're retired, but did you train your animals to NOT listen to Mark and only listen to YOU, because it sure looks that way!"

Suzanne looked aghast that I asked The Great Gunther Gebel-Williams this question. Well, instead of giving me a dirty look (or looking aghast -- heh) the very blond and very handsome and (really not) retired animal trainer turned to me, smiled, winked and said, "Yes." (HAHAHA -- I KNEW IT! If daddy Gunther ever gets sick and misses a performance, Mark's gonna be cat chow!)

The circus continued with more acts we never heard of, yet it turned out to be one of the BEST shows we ever saw!

Every year, Suzanne insists we arrive one hour early for "The Clown Show"... This year was no different, except I was wearing that silly hat with the head of David Larible on top! Needless to say, I was very popular with the clowns, who must hold Mr. Larible in high regard. ;-)

Now, for six months I had planned to play a joke on the clowns during "The Clown Show"...

Remember those toy, squirt cameras? Fill 'em up with water and press the button and WHOOSH! A stream of water shoots out of the shutter. ;-)

Well, I thought it would be funny to take photos of Suzanne with the clowns and squirt them with the fake camera. ;-)

While Suzanne was getting each clown's autograph, I asked each of them to pose for a picture with her. They politely obliged.

They politely got shot IN THE FACE with my squirt camera.

(HAHAHA!)

All except ONE, that is... Cezary, the evil DWARF clown. He laughed, but it was an "evil" laugh.

That should've been a clue, right there...

Well, The Clown Show ended and Suzanne and I went back to our front row, center seats to watch the circus parade...

All the acts marched by, INCLUDING THE CLOWNS, who smiled and laughed as they spotted us in our (heh) front row, center seats. ;-)

Cezary, who was carrying a fire extinguisher, briefly stopped in front of us, pointed the extinguisher RIGHT AT US and WHOOOOOOSH!!! A HUGE stream of water hit us right in the face!

The people around us had no idea what was going on... Ditto for the security guards, who probably were wondering why these two, seemingly innocent women were getting DRENCHED by a clown!

Yes, folks -- The Clown's Revenge. ;-)

And not just once, either!

The parade o' circus acts marched by us again, and since we were still laughing from getting soaked a few minutes earlier, we didn't notice the evil dwarf clown in front of us...

WHOOOOOOSH!!! ;-)

With this stupidity in mind, I present to you...

Henny and the Hennettes!

I also saw Kenneth Feld, owner of Feld Entertainment and head honcho of Barnum's Kaleidoscape, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney On Ice and Siegfried & Roy. Suzanne wanted his autograph, but she was too embarrassed to go up to him, since she wasn't sure it was him -- but I was. (Heehee) Oh well -- what's a friend to do? ;-)

"Excuse me, Mr. Feld, my friend Suzanne and I have been going to your circuses together since we were kids... We think they're great. I'd like to wish you luck in your latest venture, Kaleidoscape."

"Thank you. BTW, I was noticing your headgear..." (Uh oh, guess HE noticed my new, David Larible crown.) "Oh, uh, yes... Every circus, I take the head of my David Larible doll and make a new hat -- or something -- with it..."

Needless to say, Suzanne got his autograph. ;-)

The show started with David Larible putting his makeup and costume on in front of the audience -- a very interesting idea -- transforming himself from a regular person into a clown... What's that quote of his from his bio? Ah, yes: "'David the Clown' and 'David the Person' are one and the same!"

There was also another clown in the show, Pipo -- a harlequin whiteface from France -- who played bottles like tubular bells. Suzanne recognized him from a portrait she saw of him in an outdoor market near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (Wow.)

We found out what Suzanne's new boyfriend (heh) meant by "swallowing balls"... He can juggle five ping-pong balls IN HIS MOUTH. Wow -- I was impressed! I never saw that before! (Wonder if I could do that -- I was always unbeatable at ping-pong in day camp! Heehee)

When Picasso, Jr. left the ring, he looked right at us and said, "Swallow balls." (At least he had a sense of humor! LOL!)

It was time for my favorite clown to pick shills, and we watched him select the same types he always does: a "babe", "suit", "granny" and "schlub".

I jokingly told Suzanne that since we were now "best friends" with Mr. Feld (heh), we should've asked him if we could be shills for David Larible... She said, and very matter-of-factly, "Laura, we're too old for the babe and too young for the granny." (Ouch!)

"I am not!" I said. "Yes you are. We're both middle-aged!" she responded. "No, I'm not! And I certainly don't look it -- I look like 32, maybe... Besides, I don't have any lines or wrinkles!" "Laura, sad as it may be, we are no longer 15 and going to Town & Country Day Camp."

Well, I don't care WHAT Suzanne says, I am not too old to be a "babe"! I am no way, no how middle-aged! No middle-aged woman is going to put the head of her David Larible doll on top of a crown and wear it on her head! (Uh, right??)

Needless to say, in spite of Suzanne's reality check (harummph!), the show was great, and we had a wonderful time. :-) And, to make it EVEN BETTER, it ended with David Larible and Pipo exiting the ring HOLDING HANDS. Too bad they weren't doing a little skippy dance, then I could've named this show, Men Holding Hands: Part Deux. (Yeah, I put that French in there for Pipo, heehee)

In the lobby afterwards, we saw David Larible again, and Suzanne (of course) wanted his autograph...

We went up to him and Suzanne handed him her Super Sharpie and show program... She said to him, "My friend is your #1 fan." He looked at me, smiled, and said, "I noticed that uh, on your head." I said, "Yes. Every circus, I put your head on top of a hat or something and make new headgear to wear to the circus."

He then looked at my nameplate necklace and said, "Laura... Okay..." and started to sign her program... I said, "Wait, the autograph is for HER, not me!"

I could tell by his eyes he was thinking, "But I thought she's my #1 fan??"

I suppose he COULDN'T tell by MY eyes that I was thinking, "Hey, Suzanne's the autograph hound, NOT ME."

(Whoops. Did I just insult David Larible?? Eek.)

So THIS is the typical loser who attends the circus year-after-year -- BY HIMSELF. (And a David Larible fan, too. Ack.)

Sigh... So this is my future. (Better get used to it, huh?)

Great. Just great. Not only a (fellow) Circus Groupie, but a WACKO. (Yup -- this is me next year, folks!)

I asked Mister Circus Groupie his name...

"Mosha."

"Well, howdy Mosha. I'm Laura, and this is my friend, Suzanne. She's David Larible's Number Two fan, btw. Guess that makes you Number THREE. Nice to meet you."

Suzanne then whispered in my ear, "Laura, maybe you should get his e-mail address... You two can go to the circus together next year. <snicker>"

(Har.)

Well, it was time for the show... (And not a moment too soon!)

Returning as Ringmaster was native New Yorker (and the youngest Ringmaster, ever!) Johnathan Lee Iverson. :-) The "stars" of the show were "Bo and Bello". Bo the elephant was billed as the "smartest elephant in the world", and Bello the clown as the "world's zaniest daredevil".

"I don't think so -- but tell Bello thanks," I said to the circus worker.

"Suzanne, I did the squirt camera thing to the BOSS CLOWN... Some nerdy guy recognizes me from my photo in my David Larible hat on my home page... See a pattern emerging, here? Why would Bello -- the STAR OF THE SHOW -- want to have his photo taken with ME? David Larible didn't ask to have his photo taken with me at Kaleidoscape -- and it was HIS HEAD I was wearing! I'm being set up! It's 'The Clown's Revenge -- The Sequel'."

"Oh geesh, Laura! Maybe Bello just likes your hat and wants to have his photo taken with you! It's not only fans like me who like to have photos taken with the stars! Performers like souvenirs, too!"

"Oh." (Whoops. Too late.)

So, the rest of the circus continued... Mark Gebel and his tigers... (Not doing anything too dangerous, since Daddy Dearest wasn't around. Heh) High-wire acts... Some very-cool contortionists... The clowns... Oh yeah, and more Bo and Bello...

(Oh, Bello, Bello, Bello... What cool hair you have.)

Every time Bello passed by, he again waved and smiled at me... Even once blew me a kiss...

Suzanne looked at me and shook her head... "See what I mean? He just liked your hat and wanted to have his photo taken with you!"

"Yeah, I guess..." :-(

"Hey, Laura -- it says in the circus program that Bello won the Silver Clown Award at the International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo in 1999. Wowwwwww! And he's soooooo young! Maybe next year he'll win the GOLDEN Clown Award like David Larible! By the way, you're still David Larible's Number One Fan, aren't you? <snicker>"

Sigh... :-(

Bello then left the ring, came up to me, smiled, took my hand and said, "I really like your hat."

"Uh, I really like your hair." (Hey, it was the best I could do -- considering I felt like a JERK!)

"Told ya! He just liked your hat!" she said.

"Maybe I should've just given it to him," I said sarcastically.

"Yup. Most desirable item."

"Guess I'll have to take the head from my Bello doll, put it on a hat and wear it to the circus next year, huh?"

"Yup. Don't forget the beanie propeller."

I asked one of the vendors what TM's injury was, and if he was back in the show. She said he thought he was back. "The tip of his thumb was bitten off, just a teeny little piece". (Just a teeny little piece??? Geesh!)

Since Cezary, the Evil Dwarf Clown was back in show, I decided to bring the squirt camera, again. Suzanne and David thought he'd remember "The Clown's Revenge", but I wasn't so sure...

Wanting to see if I could still squirt a clown without laughing, I thought I'd test it out, first, before going up to Cezary. David agreed to be my shill. ;-)

As luck would have it, Danise the Clown called me over. (Guess she liked my Clown Crown, heh.) How lucky could I get? A clown just ASKING for it, lol!

Using my old line, "Hi, can I take a photo of you with my friend?", she happily posed with David. <snicker>

CLICK.

WHOOOOOOOOOOSH!

(At least she laughed, unlike Cezary the Evil Dwarf Clown, two years ago, heh.)

I finally found Cezary, tapped him on the shoulder and uttered the same lame phrase...

He stood next to David, who got down on his knees so as not to tower over the Evil Dwarf. Well, since Cezary's a clown, he did what any self-respecting clown would do -- he got down on his knees! THAT was funny! (Whoops. Sorry, David. Heh)

As I was about to <cough> "take the picture", Cezary said to me, "You forgot to slide open the lens cover!" Both David and I tried not to laugh. ;-) I did a sweet, coy smile and politely thanked him.

A small crowd had gathered around us (must've been my David Larible tiara, coupled with the funny "kneeling" bit), when suddenly...

CLICK.

WHOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Everyone burst out laughing! (Heh) Even Cezary laughed! (He obviousy had no recollection of what happened two years ago! WHEW! Apparently, he's been humbled.)

Also during the "Three-Ring Adventure", former "Human Clown'nball" Jon Weiss gave out peacock feathers to the folks in the ring, and taught them how to balance the feather on their hand and nose. David was having fun balancing his feather, and was not happy when they announced that the feathers had to be returned, because they were "props". He tried to sneak his feather out of the ring by hiding it under his jacket, but got caught by Gregory the Clown. ROFLMAO! (Whoops. Sorry, David.)

I kept noticing this nerdy guy staring at me during the "Three Ring Adventure", but paid it no attention. At least not yet. ;-)

We returned to our seats, and Suzanne and I saw our (heehee) old friend, Carmine the Security Guard. I took that as an omen of some kind... (And I was right.)

During the opening parade of acts, some bald guy in a loincloth with a snake around his neck came out. David said that was the substitute Gator Guy. ROFLMAO!

Suzanne then pointed out this nerdy guy sitting a few seats away. By himself. I looked at him and OMIGOD -- it was the same nerdy guy who was staring at me, earlier!

At first, we thought he was a shill, because Suzanne said he didn't have a coat or jacket. Then, she noticed he was talking to himself. Now, circus fans may be a little strange, may be a little nerdy (<cough> Mosha), and some may be "circus groupies", but they're not usually PSYCHO!

Then, Suzanne took a CLOSER look...

He DID have a jacket with him, only he put it in the row behind him, three seats over! Not even in the empty seat in the row behind him -- but in the row behind him three seats over! (What's up with THAT???)

He kept staring at me and talking to himself... David dubbed him "Barry" and said he probably saw my circus diary page (You Are HERE), developed a crush on me and bought a ticket for the same show I was going to, as close to my seat as possible. (That's what I get for posting my ticket date and seat number, lol!)

But that didn't explain him talking to himself...

"He's rehearsing his lines; getting up the courage to talk to you." (Thanks, David.)

My favorite clown, David Larible finally had new acts. ;-) When he was picking shills, the "granny" he <cough> "plucked from the audience" was (once again) his mom. This is the FOURTH time Suzanne and I saw him use his mom... I then checked the circus program and noticed a "Lucina Larible" in the credits. That must be her. ;-)

He also noticed my crowning tribute to him. He kept smiling, waving and signaling to me throughout the show. (As did many of the other performers, lol!) I smiled back and gave him that scary "I'm your Number One Fan" look.

Finally, Ringmaster Kevin Venardos introduced the Gator Guy... Didn't call him "TM, The Gator Guy" -- just "Gator Guy". We thought that was hysterical! The substitute Gator Guy! (Get any guy stupid enough to put his head in an alligator's mouth, put him in a loincloth and call him the "Gator Guy"!)

Since I wasn't so sure it wasn't the REAL Gator Guy, I used my binoculars... Nope. Substitute. This guy had both his thumbs. (Heehee)

Suzanne was going on and on about Henny, the clown from two years ago she (still?!) has a crush on. She suggested I ask one of the clowns if they knew what happened to him...

Well, good friend that I am, I asked Carmine the Security Guard to call over Todd the Clown, who had appeared in the show with Henny, and was in this show.

"Hi, my friend over here (pointing to Suzanne) has a crush on David Hennesy -- Henny the Clown... And since you appeared in the 130th Edition show, she thought maybe you'd know what happened to him, especially since he didn't finish the show season."

"Yes... He's not with Ringling any more. He's in South Dakota."

Suzanne was happy and thanked me, and said she will now search for Henny. She also plans to send a letter to Todd (Todd Zimmerman, Clown, c/o The Circus, c/o The Garden) asking for more Henny info. (Good luck!) ALL IN THE GUISE OF INVITING HIM TO APPEAR AS A CLOWN FOR HER PRE-K CLASS STUDENTS! (Yeah, of course.)

The show ended with David Larible coming out in a silver sequined version of his famous houndstooth costume... He stared right at me, smiled, and then either blew me a kiss or <snicker> gave me the bird. Here's PHOTO PROOF...

TM: But Mr. Feld, why are you firing me???

Mr. Feld: There can be only one... chance.

Evidently, Todd the Clown received the letter she sent to him (Todd Zimmerman, Clown, c/o The Circus, c/o The Garden), and he contacted Henny. I have no idea what she said in her letter to Todd on why she wanted to contact Henny, but Henny e-mailed her!

I miss him... The fans miss him... And you know the cats miss him.

But probably no one misses him as much as Mark...

I suppose I can go with 23-year-old Giggles the Clown, who's been e-mailing me for the past year, but that seems kinda weird, 'cause of the big age difference.

"I won't embarrass them with my Bello hat, will I?", I asked him. (This year my "Clown Crown" will feature Bello.)

"Laura, the question is, will they embarrass you?!"

Oh yeah! I'm gonna love his sis and niece! Now, I can't wait to go!!! (Note to Suzanne: So there! :-P See ya!)

Which reminds me...

Today, tickets went on sale to the general public. (I gave up on the "pre-order", because they don't release the "good seats" early, anymore.)

As regular readers of this page (both of you, lol!) know, I can only enjoy the circus in a certain seat -- what I call The Best Seat In The House, i.e. Section 51, Row A, Seat 5.

I was able to get seats 5 and 4 for me and David, and he got seats 3 and 2 for his sister and niece. (Too bad we don't have one more -- that would make the ENTIRE FRONT ROW, lol! OMIGOD! What if that psycho from last year reads this page -- and orders seat number 1?)

Now getting The Best Seats in The House is difficult enough, but GUESS WHAT? We got them for (drumroll, please!) OPENING NIGHT! In all my years of going to the circus, I have always wanted to get OPENING NIGHT tickets, but they've always been sold out! But, NOT THIS TIME!

(Hmm... Wonder if this is some kinda omen... The circus used to play almost a month in New York City. The past few years, it's been cut back to two weeks, probably because of poor ticket sales. <sob>)

I thought this was funny, because in the official circus video -- obviously shot before his little accident -- an interviewer asked him if he'd ever been bitten. He said, "I've never been bitten. I've always been careful and I think you only get one chance."

And then he lost his thumb. To a gator. <snicker>

You'd think he'd know better than to give an answer like that! Geesh, He's an alligator wrestler! Sooner or later, a gator's gonna get him!

Poor TM... So sad... Replaced at the circus, last year by a generic "Gator Guy", lol.

But that was then... This is now. You learn a lot in one year... Well, you're supposed to.

So I checked the Ringling site, to see if there was any new TM info. Sure enough...

In a Q & A, "Tracey in Chicago" asked TM, "Have you ever been bitten by an alligator?" He replied, "I sure have, and I have half a thumb on my left hand to prove it."

HAHAHA! (Whoops.) But that's not the funny part.

"Joe in Kansas City" then asked him, "What's it like putting your head inside an alligator's mouth?" He replied, "Putting my head inside an alligator's mouth is no big deal..."

My new Bello "Clown Crown", complete with beanie propeller, is all ready for tomorrow -- the OPENING NIGHT of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in New York City!

And I'll be there -- in the Best Seat in the House, i.e. Section 51, Row A, Seat 5. David will be next to me, and his sis and niece next to him. Which leaves Seat #1... Hmm...

(Hey, wait a minute! Bello's hair is about 10 inches high! Hmm...)

Suzanne made me promise that if Bello wants to have his picture taken with me, this year -- that I'll do it.

Yeah, whatever. ;-) Rather have my picture taken with the Psycho. <snicker> (Okay, not really.)

Not to be outdone by a kid, but the lovely teen, Giselle HAD to get the cotton candy that came packed in an orange rubber Bello hair wig. (We were some team, lol.)

But the question on everyone's lips (well, mine and David's) was...

WHO'S SITTING IN SEAT NUMBER ONE?! ;-)

What kinda man goes to the circus by himself, you ask?

This year introduced us to yet another psycho. In fact, we lovingly dubbed him the Psycho's Psycho Dad. ;-)

This was truly a dangerous man. An angry man. A nasty man. And evil. PURE EVIL.

AND HE WAS SITTING IN SEAT NUMBER ONE.

He didn't even want to get up to let us into our seats! "Can we get to our seats, please?", I said. He begrudgingly stood up. I suppose he expected us to squeeze our way in passed him. I thought that was rude, and asked him to step out to let us in. He gave me an annoyed look, but stepped out.

Now, all circus regulars know that what follows is a trip down to the floor to meet the clowns during the Three Ring Adventure (aka "Clown Show"). So, about 10 seconds after we took off our coats and sat down, we stood up, again to go down to the arena. ;-) Well, except David -- who said he'd stay and watch our stuff.

Psycho Dad DID NOT want to step aside, but he did. Then he threatened, "You're not gonna do this all night long!" "Oh yeah, we are!", I replied, defiantly. <snicker>

It's a yearly media event that takes place at midnight (yes, I was still at work!) where the elephants disembark the Circus Train in Queens, and emerge out of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel in Manhattan, to parade down 34th Street to Madison Square Garden.

I asked David if he recognized any of the elephants from the Walk...

"The question is NOT, 'Do I recognize any of them', but 'Do they remember ME?' Afterall, an elephant never forgets!", he said.

He came up to me, smiled, and said, "I love it!" He then shook my hand, David's, Giselle's and Natalie's. (Not Psycho Dad's, though, lol.)

My favorite acts were Mike Sanger's Dogs, and the Hebei Troupe Chinese Lions.

As for "animal trainer" Mark Oliver Gebel doing the act WITHOUT his dad, Gunther off on the sidelines, giving the cats their instructions... Uh, um... Let's just say Mark better watch his back, now that daddy's gone. ;-)

This year's Big Finale was something called Bailey's Comet. Neither the Ringling Bros. website nor the circus ads explained what it was.

Even after I saw it, I wasn't sure what it was. ;-)

David then explained to me the phenomena of the mysterious Bailey's Comet.

Oh. Another "Ariana, the Human Arrow". <yawn>

Anyway, producer Kenneth Feld says on the Ringling Bros. website, "This is one surprise ending that cries out not to be spoiled, so please keep the secret."

I've always wanted to see one of his shows, and since the reviews were great, thought that my friend ("I'll never see another circus with animals, again") Suzanne would like to come.

By what could only be fate, at the same time I was e-mailing her asking if she wanted to go, she was e-mailing me with the very same question!

So now, we're going this Sunday! :-)

As for our seats... Well, they're not in the front row/center (the "good seats" -- as I like to call them with the Ringling circus, heh) but in the 5th row/center. Apparently, the seats in the first four rows were VIP seats and cost significantly more -- so we opted for the "pretty good seats" at $45, instead of the "VIP good seats" at $80. ;-) It's a small venue, so I'm sure we'll be able to see everything just fine. (But I want front row/center seats! Wah!)

What's so exciting about this show is that it includes an act I've always wanted to see -- "The Girl-to-Gorilla Illusion". Teller from "Penn & Teller" wrote about it in a magazine article several years ago, and since then, I've been intrigued.

The show also includes some other acts I've never seen LIVE, e.g. the Human Blockhead, and something called "self-electrocution".

Suzanne's excited about seeing "Twistina, the Rubber Lady". (Suzanne and her wacky Arthur Loose fixation! Hahaha!)

And, to make it even better, besides getting to finally see the great Todd Robbins perform in person, Carnival Knowledge's many performers include Little Jimmy, the "King o' the Dwarfs".

With your theater ticket, you also got five carnival tickets -- which could be used for games of chance or popcorn and cotton candy. (Nice touch!)

But that was the old Laura.

The new Laura would rather watch a girl turn into a gorilla. (And the blockhead... Yeah, gimme the blockhead!)

Todd Robbins can do lots o' things. Besides being an outside talker, he can do sword swallowing... Glass eating... Fire eating... The blockhead... He's very talented. Or as my friend Suzanne said, "He's a one-man sideshow!" ;-) (Hmm... I wonder if Todd and his cwpf Bello have ever worked together? I must find out.)

Todd thinks fast on his feet -- even when they've just walked across glass, ha! -- and can put to shame the rudest heckler or brattiest kid. And he tells very funny, albeit very corny, jokes. (Heh. Just like me... Probably why I thought he was hilarious!)

It's just like comedy!

Well, he explained the day-to-day plight of being <cough> vertically-challenged. ;-)

And uh, he danced. Yup -- danced. (Okay, he was a good dancer.)

Suzanne and I debated the reasons Todd may have added a dancing dwarf to his show...

"Ya know, Suzanne, I just don't understand why Little Jimmy is in the show... All he does is dance."

"He's a dwarf, Laura..."

"And your point is...?"

"He doesn't have to do anything! This is a sideshow. Do you think the old-time sideshow freaks did anything? All they did were exhibit themselves. And make LOTS of money!"

"Johnny Eck could do stuff! His pitch card listed like 50 skills he had!"

"<sigh> You think Arthur Loose did anything, except stand there and let everyone look at the baggy, saggy skin on his face? No."

"Frank Lentini could kick a football."

"Okay. And Little Jimmy can dance."

"So that's it, then? That's why Todd put him in the show, Suzanne? 'Cause he's a dwarf?"

"Yup. And they're probably good friends."

"Oh."

"Remember back in Town & Country Day Camp... I made you my partner in my act for the camp talent show."

"Yeah. So?"

"What did you do?"

"Told stupid jokes... Sang Rubber Duckie."

"Ya see, it's just like comedy."

I truly, truly loved Carnival Knowledge! The only thing missing was souvenirs... A stuffed jackalope toy would've been a perfect "most desirable item". <sob>

Todd recognized me from Slim's Sideshow Discussion Group...

Suzanne: "Well what do you expect, Laura? You posted your seat location in your circus blog! And your photo's all over the Web!"

For a tiny storefront on the Lower East Side, there's sure lots of great sideshow memorabilia packed inside!

Suzanne was fascinated by the FeJee Mermaid and the furry mink fish, and I was thrilled to see an old pitch card of the original Lobster Boy, Grady Stiles, Sr. -- with his Lobster Boy son, Grady Stiles, Jr. :-D

Suzanne and I have been fascinated with the Jivaro Indian tribe since we first visited the Museum of The American Indian when we were teenagers, and saw two Jivaro SHRUNKEN BODIES!

But we did find a "most desirable item"...

...a shrunken head. (Made of plastic; oh well.)

I also bought a shrunken head t-shirt... And a Lobster Boy t-shirt.

He did. :-)

He brought some of the <cough> "props" from his act, and demonstrated what he does. (Much to the chagrin to some of the diners, who were trying to eat, lol!)