After lunch today, my lovely wife and I drove north to Bellows Falls VT to spent a delightful day with my best buddy Don and his lovely wife Barbara. --------------------------------------------->

    They live near the top of a rather steep road near the Bellows Falls Reservoir. So after checking out (and raiding) their garden and their new movies,  we decided it was time for a  nature walk. The reservoir is only about two minutes walk from their front door, so it's the obvious choice. Despite the very hungry mosquitos on the first half of the walk, the stroll around the reservoir was a really nice walk. It takes a little under an hour at a leisurely pace, it's out in the middle of nowhere, and it's a nice, easy walk. Plus we had the whole place to ourselves.

    Then we enjoyed a fine dinner together before Nancy and I headed home.

     And a good time was had by all.

 

    After missing every single one this summer :|(>, I finally got to attend this month's Open Comedy Mike at PACE in Easthamton MA tonight. I'm a Comedy Night groupie... I go to every single one I can. I love it! I've watched established part-time comedians grow and develop and become really funny. I've watched newbies that rock. I've watched old timers and newbies bomb. I watched people get up there and just ramble on and on and on about "interesting incidents" without ever getting a laugh from the audience. And I've watched a small contingent of comics that are just plain excellent. Sometimes, all of these things happen on the same night.

   Tonight was no different: a couple of established comedians were excellent as usual; a couple of perservering wannabes; a few rank beginners that show promise; and another few that were excellent; and one that got up there and just started telling us about her day. She got as far as lunch before our extremely long-suffering host shut her down gently. Jennife Myszkowski is such a gracious host. I'm always impressed by her professionalism. (Although there was that one time....)

 

    Got up early and drove to the beach with Nancy. Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme CT: our new favorite beach. The highlight of the day for me was a baby sea turtle. We were just swimming  around in the warm ocean water of the shallows, when all of a sudden a baby sea turtle was practically in Nancy's face. She took lots of photos. (You can see her shadow in the top picture.)

   I followed it for most of half an hour. It kept making a valiant effort to get up onto the beach, the waves hindering and helping in turn, and the little undertow often rolling the little thing over and over. Then when it finally made it to dry sand, it would rest there for a bit and then valiantly struggle to get back out to open water. And then it would head right back towards shore. It did this several times along the beach as I watched it. Just practicing, I guess.

 

 

     We got home about 5:00, and I immediately got ready to go to work. This evening, it was my pleasure to perform for the "Welcome Back Potluck Supper" at Conway Grammar School in Conway MA. Lots of people arrived late (as usual happens at this sort of thing) so I wasn't able to start at the appointed time. So I waited about 10 or 15 minutes and then stiltwalked up the hallway from the gym to the cafeteria. I got quite a reception when I walked in. As it turns out Anne Bussler (the woman who booked me) was about to announce that the children should all head down to the gym for my show. Good timing, Anne.

     So I did a ½-hour show followed by a ½-hour of games. The kids and the adults were very receptive to my show. And the kids sure loved the games. I was absolutely delighted that almost every single kid knew how to play Fishy Fishy because this is a game I helped introduce to the area beginning way back in the early 80's! It's now a common playground game throughout Western MA and much of Connicticut, as are several of the other New Games I've been teaching to both children and staff! Yay!

     We also played Lemonade, Buddy Tag, Everybody's It, Instant Everybody's It, May I Borrow Your Cat?, and Flying Dutchman. It was ever more pleasing to know that a few of the older girls know most of the New Games we played today, and really love them! Yipee! It's working!

     Afterwards, I got a lot of appreciation from the parents. Anne told me that the principal, Dr Judith Siciliano, was especially pleased with my performance. In fact, she and Anne instantly booked me for another appearance at the school next month! I like this!

 

     Down in Holyoke MA today, I did my very first event that came to me strictly and solely through my website. David Shaw's 9th birthday party was a blast!

     Since it was pouring rain, we were indoors. There wasn't a lot of space because the living room was filled with adults and the dining room was filled with kids. I set up on the far side of the dining room so the adults could watch from the next room if they wanted to... and evidently they wanted to because it seemed like, even though they were sometimes talking a bit among themselves, that they were all watching the show every time I happened to look up from the kids and look into the living room beyond!

     So, everyone got a lot of laughs in my Aerial Delights Show, then we played a bunch of party games with the kids (which the adults also watched the whole time!) --- those two together make up my Indoor Birthday Party Special --- and then it was time for Project: Ribbon Dancer: everyone got to make, decorate, play with, and take home their very own ribbon dancer.

     During the show, the birthday boy was a rather reluctant volunteer (I "volunteer" the birthday child for everything that requires a volunteer); but during the games, David was eager to volunteer for everything! Basically, he just plain had a really good time at his party! Yay! Happy birthday, David!

     NOTE: It was also very gratifying to know that my website is now actually pulling in business. It's only been up since January of this year, and up until now it's been a great resource to refer people to who want to "see me in action". Basically, it's been acting mostly as a comfirming source for potential clients and not as an original source. So it is terrific that my website has now taken the move over to original source and has started to generate income. Yipee! Yay website!

 

   What a full day! First, after having not gone all summer (I work weekends) (especially in the summer), we got up this morning and went to church. My cousin's wife is the minister at the Hadley MA Congregational Church, and my lovely wife just loves the way she preaches. It works for me, too, besides the fact that I just plain like going to church.

   Then, after church, we drove home and I quickly changed my clothes and we drove to our fine friends'    ← Jennifer and Scott's house-warming and pancake party in Holyoke MA. It's a pretty cool little house on a corner lot. There were lots of pancakes (blueberry & plain), at least four different kinds of fruit salad, homemade bread, orange juice, and even a bit of scramble eggs for those who really craved the protein. And the coolest part was that they had the just foot-stompin'-est FUN local band The Primate Fiasco (clarinet, trumpet, tuba, banjo, drums) playing two awesome sets in their back yard! What a blast! Great party! Great band! Great people! Great host couple!

   Then, after the housewarming, we drove home and I quickly changed my clothes and drove to work, which today was in Belchertown MA where I did some stiltwalking "walk-around" for the Clapp Memorial Library's Book Signing and $5M Expansion Fundraiser Kick-Off Event. 

   It was so much FUN! A big tent with a stage and chairs; a couple of smaller pavilions with food and library-related activites; me; magician Fran Ferry; and a huge stack of boxes of books. You see, Jennifer Whitehead, the librarian there, teamed up with someone and wrote a book about a mouse with a long tail who lives in a library that is so crowded he's afraid his tail is going to get stepped on. Solution: make the library bigger, of course! They read the entire book out loud at the beginning of the event, then there were a few (mercifully) brief speeches, and then the authors began signing books while Fran and I and the two booths entertained the crowds! It sure was a whole lot of FUN!

   Then, after my gig, I drove home and took my own sweet time changing my clothes and putting my equipment away. I grabbed some dinner that my wonderful wife had so kindly prepared, and leisurely sat around in our livingroom while I ate my dinner and talked with my lovely wife both then and for an hour or so afterwards. I just love that woman so much! 

   And now, she's gone to sleep, and I'm going to watch a movie.

 

   Today was the regular monthly meeting of the Hats Off Performers Guild. All seven of us were actually there. Not for the whole meeting, of course, because one person came late and two left early; but that's what happens when 7 full-time entertainers try to set up a time to meet. We're all used to not really having a schedule: We could be leaving for a gig at just about any time of day or night. That's how the entertainment industry works. You go when you have to and get back when you're done.

   Anyways, I didn't see these guys much this summer (busy season) and I was really missing them. I'm glad everyone was there today. We've been meeting together for most of two decades and I've become pretty attached to these guys over the years.

 

   Driving home from Southampton MA and we saw a black squirrel! We were both a little excited, because they're kind of rare around here.

 

 

   I got to stiltwalk today for the Open Barn at Robinson Farm in Hardwick MA for "Raw Milk Day" which included 7 area farms. Ray & Pam Robinson are people I know from the annual May Day family camp out weekend that our mutual friends Eric Volheim & Lucinda Childs host every year. Ray & Pam live "across the street" from Eric & Lu. We discovered today that that means that one of their cow pastures is what's really across the street from Eric & Lu's... their actual home is down the road a bit and around the corner. But their properties are across the street from each other. I guess things are a little different in rural areas then in suburbia where I've lived pretty much my whole life.

   Anyways, my lovely wife decided to come along today and bring her camera, too, so thank her for the cool pix! Robinson Farm is primarily a dairy farm that also sells hay, eggs, & fresh produce. (Yay eggplant!)→ They have a roadside farm stand, and are know in the area for their excellent raw milk.

   They had a fun little information tent (run by grandma!) set up on their front lawn for visitors. When we got there just before it began, they were just putting the final touches on the pretty cool schedule of events they'd set up for their Open Barn, which ran from 2:30-5:30 today only. The program included a self-guided tour of the farm (read the map and follow the yellow balloons!), a ← hay ride, calling in the cows from pasture, a milking demonstration, as well as me on stilts out in front entertaining the kids (and adults!) from 2:45-4:15. There was also a little art station where young visitors could draw a picture of the farm. 

   What a fun day! What a really nice program! What great people! What gorgeous eggplant! Yay!

 

   River Valley Market, our brand new food cooperative in Northampton MA, hosted a delightful event today. It was a Pleasant Revolution Parking Lot Party featuring the Ginger Ninjas, the world's first rock band to tour by bicycle and use bicycles to power their sound system! They play "mind-shaking-love-groove-folk-funk-roots-rock-explosive-international-pedal-powered-mountain music for a pleasant revolution."

   My lovely wife and I got there early because, since I was planning on stilt- walking for this event, I wanted to be sure to get a parking spot up front. For several days, we'd been hearing ads on several different radio stations for the event, so I was expecting a bunch of people to show up. Little did I know!

   The RVM parking lot has a little over 90 parking spots. Half an hour into the event, the parking lot was just about full (see photo below). As soon as someone left, their spot would immediately get filled again. As the tallest guy around, I was the only one who could see if there were any empty spots anywhere in the parking lot, so I began directing incoming cars to the empty spots. In the photo below, the green car in the lower right corner has just left the empty space at the end of the aisle straight ahead. I'm off camera just to the right of the green car making a little red car stop so the green car can leave so the red car can get to the empty space.

   Pretty soon there were no empty spaces, so for the next two hours I had to get creative. I was the Traffic Ninja, squeezing vehicles of all sizes into any area that was big enough for a vehicle as long as there was still enough room for another car to get by.

   A special thanks to our Board President, Ed Maltby, who also spent most of the event directing traffic: he was on the driveway helping incoming and outgoing vehicles take turns on a suddenly single-laned area at the top of our driveway. Yay Ed! Between the two of us, we had cars parked up and down both sides of the driveway, up tight against every curb, up against the building... I even had them double parked in the loading zone. I think we managed to fit roughly 50 more vehicles into the lot than there are marked parking spots for. And still, quite a few people parked across the road and walked in.

   Plus, true to the [pun alert!] overriding theme  of the event, at least 50 more people --- adults, children, senior citizens, babies --- arrived by bike! So we had a terrific crowd for the show! The music and the performers were a total blast! Exactly what they said it was going to be (see quote above below the bike photos). In between songs, they asked for new volunteers to pedal the bikes that powered the sound system. The cool thing is that there were always plenty of volunteers, both kids and adults taking turns on the four bikes that powered up their amps. That's our founder, Dave Gowler on the bike in the right hand picture at the top, and our general manager, Rochelle Prunty, on the bike second from the left in the photo next to it.

   Yay Ginger Ninjas for doing what you do! Yay River Valley Market for hosting them! Yay everyone who came to RVM for the show! YAY!!!

 

  My dear darling daughter Myrrh (far left) is getting married tomorrow! So tonight we had a clan gathering of my side of the family with whoever was in town the night before. It was a dessert potluck from 7-11 in the evening at our house. There was hugs and love and smiles and aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins and second cousins once removed and lots of oh so scrumptious desserts and an assortment of  beverages and blocks and jenga and music and elated happiness and joy! YAY!

 

      Saturday, September 20, 2008
   This morning, I performed at the 26th Annual Northwest Park Fair in Winsdor CT. I've been entertaining at this fair every year but one since 1992, but I'm not going to write anything more about this terrific little fair because something monumental happened after that:

   This afternoon was my dear darling daughter's wedding! Yippee-yi-o-ky-ay! and  Wahoolazuma! Wowie zowie, Myrrh is married! I am just elated with happiness for her.  Her husband Joe is a great guy (everybody thinks so) and they are just so well-matched. 

   It was a delightful, beautiful ceremony in a gorgeous space. Joe is a military man, so he and his Army buddies all wore their uniforms, including four with swords they used to make a saber arch at the close of the ceremony for Myrrh & Joe to walk through! 

    After the ceremony, it was my deep pleasure to be a part of this joyful event by entertaining the guests while the wedding party was off getting pictures taken. 

   And then the food. Myrrh & Joe planned all the food themselves. And judging by all the satisfied guests, I'd say they did an excellent job. Even the vegetarians were happy!

   There was the customary toast to the bride and groom with a very nice speech by a good friend of both of them, followed by the customary solo dance by the new couple which I readily admit I cried uncontrollably all the way through... it was just so beautiful. (My eyes were overflowing a bit when they said their vows, too.) Then they cut the cake... with a sword! And after that, there was swing dancing for the rest of the evening because Myrrh & Joe are swing dancers. What a party! What a wedding! What a terrific couple!

 

(with her maternal grand-father)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   I just love my daughter Myrrh so much and am just giddy with joy that she can be so happy! Bless you Myrrh & Joe. YAY!!!

 

   Two great things happened today.

   FIRST: We rent the four rooms out upstairs, and for the first time ever in over twenty years, all four rooms are available at the same time. It's a little scary financially, but them's the brakes, buddy. So, today we  interviewed a prospective housemate and [here's the good part] it was pretty much instantly obvious that he was a good fit for our household. At the end of the interview we invited him to live with us and he accepted! YAY!

while I was entertaining the rest of the guests inside. Hopefully, I'll get to see the rest of them in a few weeks. I'm performing down near Myrrh & Joe's place and plan on dropping in for a visit if they are going to be around. 

   The photo on the right is our half of the traditional bride-dances-with-her-father-while-groom-dances-with-his-mother dance. I'm not really much of a dancer but it sure was just plain excellent to dance with my dear darling daughter on her wedding day!

   Today, I performed for the first time ever in East Hampton CT! (I keep track of this kind of stuff.) It was Zach Priestly's 6th birthday party! On a referal from Glastonbury KinderCare (YAY!), Zach's mom Kelly Bedard called me in July to arrange this party. I just love it when clients call in plenty of time! The good people at KinderCare told her that my weekend often book up way ahead of time, so Kelly called me two months early and got her date. In the past week, I've had at least three prospective clients calling me less than two weeks before their event and I was already booked, So it may seem like a lot of lead time, but Kelly did the right thing. 

   So they live in this great new neighborhood in a kind of out of the way corner of town. It was even fun driving there! When I arrived, there were a boodle of kids in the basement waiting for me. Several of them were standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me, and they began whooping it up the second I turned the corner on the landing! Several of them had seen me before, so that was great, too. Zach and a couple of his more active buddies were running around at top speed while the more sedate kids were playing with Legos on the rug or drawing at the table. 

   This group was a lively bunch... I LOVE that! They laughed at all my jokes, clapped at all the right times, were loud and noisy exactly when they were supposed to, and just had a blast during my show and the games!

   And then, surprise surprise, they also enjoyed the special add-on craft project parents often opt for: Project: Ribbon Dancer. Every kid gets to pick the ribbon the want, we put it an a wooden handle, and then they decorate their handle with lots of different colors of tape. Soon, they all are excitedly waving them around in the air --- very festive and very fun --- and then they take their new creation home. Wow! 

   Zach was such a 6 year old boy! Full of energy, vim, and vigor... and then a few minutes later, in blatant open-mouthed awe of some trick I did... and then right back to Energy Boy again! Yipee!

 

   And today, another 6-year-old birthday where I did the same program --- show, games, ribbon dancers --- but this one was completely different both in tone and atmosphere. This was a girl's party. It was Angelina Fusto's 6th birthday party. The birthday girl was resplendent in her party dress and her face was shining brightly from beginning to end.

   The party was held at the Bement School in the Old Deerfield section of Deerfield MA. I've performed there several times, but never before in the hall Angelina's party was in. It was a perfect space for a party and a perfect space to perform in. It's all at ground level, no stairs to lug equipment up and down; it's carpeted; it has three steps that go around three side of the room, so there's "stadium seating; it's a very, very high ceiling... like two-story's tall!; it's got a piano in one corner, a kitchen, bathrooms, etc.; plus, the entryway is separated from the performance space by a low wall so the kids aren't running in and out without their parents knowing. What a terrific space!
   So, I got there a little early, which I like to do so I can take my time setting up. From the instant I walked in, I was mobbed by a curious but well-behaved group of 6-year-olds. They wanted to know what I was doing here, why do I wear that funny hat, what's in the red suitcase, what's in the big black box on wheels, what's in the little yellow box with the handle, what's in the other red bag, why are you putting that tape on the floor, when is the show going to start, my I play with that? It was a constant flurry of question for at least the first five minutes while I was doing my initial set-up.

   And then, when I opened the big black box on wheels and took out my stilts, a whole bunch of kids just sat down on the carpet in front of me and stared wide-eyed, while others began the barrage of questions again.

   And Angelina's big smile was beaming up at me from among her sea of friends from beginning to end. She was delighted with the show, thrilled with the parachute games, and very artistic both decorating and playing with her ribbon dancer.

   One of the joys of my profession is meeting so many different (and I do mean different) kinds of people. Yesterday and today, I did the exact same program for two 6th birthday parties and everyone had a wonderful time at both of them... but they were so, so different. I LOVE MY JOB!

 

trevor@trevorthegamesman.com

PO Box 463, Haydenville, MA 01039