My Circus Tis of Thee...

Myself and Baby Pammy before we going on to perform "Puttin Baby to Bed" gag in 2001 for the 131st Edition of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Baby Pammy having fun at "Daddy's" expense in our "Puttin' Baby to Bed" gag.

Pammy and I, after a great deal of effort finally got to work a gag together in 2001. Before we left for the circus we hoped to work together in a gag but things didn't go our way in Winter Quarters. From that point on it was our goal to write a gag for ourselves to perform by the time we played Madison Square Garden. We bought this old metal hospital crib and painted it yellow then we bought a bunch of stuffed animals. We rehearsed in our spare time until we felt the gag was ready. We had a pretty good ring gag that could easily be longer if need be. The show's director was in New York to look over the show for our official premiere so we jumped at the first chance to audition it for him. He liked it and from then on it was fun time for Al and Pammy in the pre-show.

Writing that gag, then finding the crib and transporting it back to the arena would have been near impossible were it not for a friend, Teresa Barlowe, a former dancer and at that time purchasing agent for the red unit. She drove the crib back in her truck and things worked out. In the circus we helped each other as much as possible.

I remember working on my pratfalls between shows my first time with the circus. One evening a Russian man whose daughter was an aerialist on the show came over to the ring where I was working. He stood watching me work for a few minutes then stepped into the ring to teach me some pointers. I haven't mentioned that up to that point I had never said anything other than hello to him. I was a bit shy around the other cast members outside of the alley at the time. Oh and did I mention he spoke no English? He used gestures and demonstrated when gestures weren't enough. He did this all without any prompting from myself. When he looked at me he didn't see an American or a Mexican American. I could have been from Mars for all he cared. To him I was simply a circus performer that needed help. That's "circus"!

Circus can bring out the best in people and make you want to push the envelope.The circus is also like it's own country. It is diverse in it's population and offers many opportunities for growth and advancement based on one's abilities.This country could learn a great deal from the circus community. "Puttin' Baby to Bed" was a big leap of faith for Pammy and I because we were a couple of clowns without a whole lot of clout but we knew we had to try. We've got the crib in storage and we'll soon refurbish it for use once again before too long. Thank you Circus.