Quit Show Business, Jim? You mean there's something else that folks actually do?

Or WANT to do?

You could just as easily stay at home, play clubs, go to college, get addicted to drugs and end up in ditch! Don't let that deter you.

Kevin
I am just tellin them what they want to hear...They are happy in there world..and I am happy in mine...As always, look forward to seeing you!...(Call Hunsley)...

They say the sawdust gets in your blood.
If you eat at the cookhouse it'll get in your gut,too.
2 things:
You need a good rain suit with rubber boots that fit.
You need a good ice chest so you don't spend all your money on expensive fair food.

I can't egt over the sheer amount of sarcasm here. Makes your character seem even more unappealing. The fact remains that in the city I can get one-on-one personal training and education without; being on the road, away from loved ones, poor living conditions, near zero hygeine, and below minimum wage pay while some guy in an a/c unit counts his money. It's a disgrace and a lie to tell young people "the eperience is worht it" or "it's your step up in life". Screw that.

If its in your heart to do it you wouldn`t be quizzing here. So based on that alone I don`t think you would be happy on the road.

Blackguyver, Bubbles, and Amazo, would you care to introduce yourselves?

It's neither a disgrace nor a lie to tell people that it's not worth it. We all happen to have opinions, and many of us have been working pros for many years, within many parts of the entertainment world. Some of it is worth it, some is not. It also depends on what Kameron sees as his long-term goals. He can make his own choice.

Some of us tend to use tongue-in-cheek humor occasionally. Since I've personally observed both Jim and Pete use it, I can say that it's pretty funny to watch them practice it, though each drools out the opposite side of his mouth. I've also known Martin, Steve, Kondini, Mr. Pitts, and Kevin to use it. It's rather the thing to do. Perhaps it's a viral thing that comes from being in this business, because I've never heard a backyard conversation that didn't have it. Never.

It can be a great learning experience. Kameron has said in the past, that he can't go the route of schooling, and he doesn't live near "the city". This could actually be an opportunity form him. Like any opportunity, there are pros and cons.

Tim Deremer...I've never heard anything negative about him. That's unusual in this business.

Harley's Curator Freind is setting up near Chicago in Crown Point Indiana (Lake Co.Fair)...Open Friday...Feel free to stop by, call ahead and I'll square you in the Gate.(847-840-5118)and buy you a cup-0 coffee.. If pierced and tats are the norm, then By God I'm the Freak!! Imagine that! Oh, I have Torches, I'll still show you how to eat Fire even tho you didn't help set up!...

Harley, you always have interesting facts. I suppose you like to be educational as well as boring.

I enjoyed the bit about the street preacher. I have been full time busking for 4 or 5 months now. So to get back on track I would not suggest anyone become a busker or a join a show for that matter. I mean if they truly want to do it they will no matter what I say. Right? It ain't easy but it is fun. As long as you have a twisted idea of what fun is.

Easy? What did that ever have to do with it?

I've been working on a new show for about 4 years, and it's almost ready (and I chuckle at the comments of some of my first-of-may students, as they begin to put together their own shows). I have read virtually nothing in that time that wasn't related to it. I have thought about almost nothing else, because I'm trying to weave a million disparate elements into a cohesive whole. My family thinks I've become even more absent-minded, because I'm somewhere else.

It's been a huge investment of time and money, and a lot of my business went to h*ll along with it. I'm allowed to bust on the traditional shows, comment on how they end up paying minimum wage. I've been there, and am there. So what?

I'll get enough shows to pay the bills. The shows won't all be this month, but they'll pay the bills.

I still love my job, after 39 years of being a pro. I wouldn't trade it for anything else I know. This job has given me the opportunity to go a million directions in my head, and take a lot of audiences along for the ride. I can follow my imagination, and feed it with stuff that would otherwise be so obscure, nobody would much care about it. I have the opportunity to be a renegade academic, and I don't have to document all my sources. I can spend an hour or a month in my workshop, trying to figure out a new design for something. I have, when I've been on the road, the occasional opportunity to see places and talk with people who have enriched my life (though a couple have robbed me blind). I have done some things that conventional people tell me are impossible, and made them a daily part of my life. How could I ever want to trade that in?

So Kameron, if you want to go for it, dive in. Yes, there will be problems. You get that in any job. Yes, you'll fall into habits of some sort. Accountants do that too. Yes, people will sometimes think you're BSing them, but you'll be doing an honest show, unlike being in politics or a pulpit. Sometimes you'll have money. Sometimes you won't. Rotten's comment about fun is the main reason we're all here. And you'll meet a lot of interesting people, as long as you keep your mind open.

Keep the Day Job, Get a Higley and Forty Mile It!...Trust me!...Except Blackguyver, He needs to join a Show and get Abused, He knows that's what he wants!...Lots-0 Good Ole Carny Abuse!...thats what I'm talkin about!...

Hey Harley, are you going to post a pic of your graduating class? Would enjoy hearing about it from the fellas too. Could they post their memories from your school. I'd be interested in reading them. I'm not looking for a free lesson here, just a review/recap of the event.

I think my friend Jim advises from another time of cheap gas. Get a 'Higley' and 15 mile it.
That way your ice won't melt in your Frappe before you get there and you won't need a map. Hell, your hair might even not dry from the morning shampoo and you'll be cooler.