I just finished reading a really good book, based on the life of a lady tiger trainer, The Final Confession of Mabel Stark by Robert Hough. It is a work of fiction/non-fiction, and awakened memories of the Circus coming to town when I was a child. Back then I remember the Circus would arrive on the train. Decorated private cars ~ cars with visible animals ~ banners proclaiming the name of the Circus. I was lucky enough to live near Union Station, my friends and I would hurry down and watch as they shifted many of the cars onto side rails where they would stay during the visit to Portland. At some point there would be a grand parade up Congress Street...carriages of performers pulled by elephants (odd as a child we only noticed the piles of "dung" they deposited along the way), prancing horses, cars overloaded with clowns, and an elephant pulling the calliope.
The Calliope, how many of you even know what that is? I know that if I asked Cari, she wouldn't have a clue. A quick description would be an organ-sorta machine, with whistle-sorta stacks attached, which when played made bubbly type sounds....hmmmmm, not very clear is it? But hearing one in my mind's eyes brings back immediate memories of the Circus and all the delights that a child gets to experience. We still enjoy the Circus and go every year, when Nick was 2 we took him to his first Circus and this year (4 years later) he braved his first elephant ride! Gracie joined us last year and next year we shall add lil' Chris. The Circus has certainly changed over the years but there is still that magic moment when the Ring Master blows his whistle and welcomes One and All to the Circus! Ya gotta love it!!
And before I forget, the book I mentioned waaaaaay back at the begining is definetly worth the read. The main character, Mabel Stark, and many others are people who lived the Circus-life, for-real. The fact that Mabel as a young girl became a tiger trainer is amazing, not to mention that she would keep at it until her death at *maybe* 80 (facts and dates being what they were back then). She was attacked savagely over a dozen times and always returned to her "babies" never once blaming them, instead focusing on the fact that they were after all - wild animals. At over 400 pages it is a long book, but I have to tell you I couldn't put it down!

The computer is telling me that it is 75 degrees here which should make it cool, instead it is humid as hell. Looks like rain, but so far nothing, a good day to add a few thoughts. Nift is on his way to Chi-town, so I am foot-loose and in cleaning-mode (not quite fancy free, but close enough)! I have been wading thru my "computer room", it's time has passed and hopefully it will soon be a den. I managed to clean out the closet and have begun boxing stuff to replace the stuff in the closet that I just threw out. I wonder if there is a logic there??
Also am making a batch of a soup my Mom made when I was child. "Poor Man's Soup" ~ something Nift sticks his nose up at, but which to me is a comfort food and brings back memories of a childhood when money was squeaky tight and a meatless meal was more the norm than not. I will enjoy it while he is gone, although soup in July somehow seems not quite right. Made with onions, tomatoes, potatoes & macaroni ~ mine doesn't taste exactly like my Moms did, but close enough to make me happy.
Something strange about a house absent Nift ~ not that he is here all day, guess it is just the knowledge that at some point he will be. So knowing that he is many miles away leaves an empty feeling. After 37 years I guess I have grown accustomed to his being, even if mostly it is stretched out on the couch. He will call just before he crawls into his sleeper and we will murmur "Good nite" and "I love you"...after all these years still love hearing those words.

Nift called this morning and has the day off, no deliveries or pick-ups until tomorrow morning. So there he is in Chicago with nothing to do, driving a semi makes doing the touristy things next to impossible and he is not one to wander about. A nice person informed him that a Casino is located about 10 miles away with full parking priviledges for BIG trucks ~ what thoughtful people! Guess where Nift has decided to spend his day off? As he told me it is a win/win situation. His company will pay for a days work even though there is none and of course look at all the money he will win. How can I be anything but overjoyed? Myself, I am taking the day off ~ definetly feeling a nap coming on. Later

The news today: Bob Hope has died. 100 years of age. I can't even imagine living to 100 and am not sure that I want to. My Mom lived to be 91 and that seemed ancient to me. Of course thinking back over her lifespan I was amazed at the changes in life, the passages in history that her eyes had witnessed. Born in 1909, she lived to see the millenium arrive. She lived when there was no refridgeration, saw the arrival of the "ice box" and eventually, the side by side with ice maker . . . and that was just one appliance. Like Bob Hope she became an icon to those of us who knew and loved her.
I remember back in the 60's, Bob Hope was touring in Vietnam, and was going to make a stop at Camrah (sp) Bay where Sonny was stationed. We watched the special, our eyes searching every face in the crowd hoping for a glimpse. We didn't get one, can't even remember all these years later if my brother was even there at the time. My Dad was so impressed that a star as BIG as Bob Hope would go and visit the "boys", to my parents there were never any bigger stars then Bob Hope and Kate Smith ~ true American icons.
So many gone this year, so few left to take their place.