Bye Bye Cynthia Shows

First....Where is Alf? (below)

All Games aside, Cynthia loaded into cousin Kris' car and drove off leaving the nest for school in KY this morning. She will stay with our cousins in Ohio one night then drive up for orientation and acclimation. If you think I am making a face in the picture with Cynthia watch the video on our video blog of today and you will understand what was going on. There were tears and smiles today. But I think I was affected with an irritable feeling all day. I will miss her but I know this is part of the whole thing called life.

Naturally the show will suffer from her absence. She brought her uniqueness to the show and made the soup of talent that makes our show what it is.

Her Cousin from Japan, Sayako, will come and cover her parts for a month but still it isn't the same.

Last picture of her as she drives off to school ...Bye Bye.

Olivia is goofing around between performances. Notice no shoes....big socks to cover the stitches.


Miles and the fire whip.

Victor did his rope challenge again today and once again escaped with ease. It really got good reactions and the lady doing the tying, Charlotte, is the only Asian person we have seen out here. She was very silly and kept telling me different names instead of her real name. She fit into the show very well...good choice to come up.


During the rope escape the theme from Cops is played and to make things more interesting I dance. Nick thought iwould be funny to shoot the action....it's on the video blog too.

Cutting the rug as Victor gets tied up.

Uncle Eddie did 2 shows today and was very well received.

We are working on some new routines as well.




I have to confess that the crowds here have been disappointing. Mostly older folks...the entertainment tent is in a really bad location. Nothing to attract families or young people to pass by. The back of the tent is where the tractors, cars, etc that participate in the various grandstand events warm up. So the noise during the show is off the chart. the audience hates it and the performers hate it. But we persevere.
If the stage was near the food court or the kiddie area then folks would be more likely to show up. The fairgrounds are tightly packed with vendors and stuff in a very confusing maze like layout. As a result not many people can find out tent area. The announcer only calls a show once and the program has not map. Also the program has pictures of acts from last year and two years ago and not any of the 2010 performers in it though our names are right in the schedule.

Upstate NY people have been, in general, very happy and nice folks but the geriatric group as a whole isn't our target audience for every show.

The weather has been very nice though we were hit with a 15 minutes thunder storm just as our last show tonight started. We got a captured audience and most stayed when the rained stopped. The first two crowds today were tough crowds but alright. The last crowd was much nicer. More families were there. There are about 20 people who are "stalkers", people who attend most of our shows. Most are kids but many are adults. very flattering.

Some folks back home have asked about my back, I have a tethered spine. I have had many more tiny spasms than I have had in past years and one major one while on the road. The doc has fixed me up with what I need while on tour. Still the unexpected bad bed at a hotel or a bad sleep some place only makes things worse. I am doing well today.

As far as Olivia's foot. She is moving around a lot. She hasn't needed ibuprofen like on the first day and is only whiny when she actually sees the stitches. She's a trouper.

Since we have lost the extra hotel room and only have the two room cabin there are four of us in the RV. Miles, Eddie, Nick and Me. I miss being with my wife and little ones like it has been most of the tour. And I haven't had a cup of coffee with my wife in a long time. Such is the trouper life.

Living at the RV is an experience. In the morning I am wakened by the bray of a donkey that is stalled near us. Then there is the moos of cows demanding to be milked. And by 7 tractors, trucks and people are heard milling about doing their farmers choirs. They have been up since 5 but remained fairly quiet for the RVers until 7.

As I walked over to the facilities I noticed a beautiful mist hugging the sides of the densely wooded Catskill Mtns around us. It is beautiful. Mami thinks this town is the prettiest area we have been in so far. There is much that reminds me of a valley we drove through in Japan so I am thinking that might have influenced her thoughts. That and the cool buildings and homes.

RV life in a small thing like ours is a bit cramped too. Since this is our first time out we have learned much and will probably get something with slide outs next year.

We usually eat dinner down here at the Rv before driving the others back to the hotel. Depending on our schedule we wake at different times and get the run around and business work done (laundry, shopping, repairs, emails, etc).

There is a great old armory here that looks like a castle. We have it on tape and hope it makes the final cut of NY video blog.

The addition of Bill and Eddie has been interesting too. Bill has become the tutor for the kids and a nanny and therapist for Titus. He is a work horse and helps Mami tremendously. Eddie is the uncle who plays with the kids. Master of games and silliness he keeps them busy and out of mom's hair.