The Sheila Variations

"Carny" is a derogatory term

It's one of those things that insiders are allowed to use ... to describe themselves ... but God HELP you if you're an outsider, and you make some joke about "carnies" in the presence of an actual carny. God help you, I'm serious.

My dear friend Mitchell works in a circus every summer, and we joke about his "carny" life. I spoke with him last night. He lives in his own camper van, with AC thank God, and travels up and down and through New England, with the fabulous Circus Smirkus. New Englanders: here is their summer schedule if you're interested. I've seen some of their performances, and they're marvelous. These people are gifted circus performers from all over the place, and many of them go on to Ringling Brothers, etc. FUN.

I said to him, "So where are you?" He said the town, he was in Vermont somewhere, in the middle of nowhere, and he said he was lying in bed in his camper van, and I said, "Dude, you are show trash to your very core."

He has no email access while he lives his carny life ... but I am going to post this anyway, for safekeeping, when I see him again.

My E-verse newsletter just came, and there's a link in it - to this: "Carny Lingo" - an enormous glossary of carnival terms. Any mini-world has its own vocabulary ... so I was reading through the glossary, just laughing, thinking of Mitchell in his carny camper van, traveling around with the circus.