the circus is leaving town

For the past 6 weeks, I've been surrounded by the bearded lady, lobster boy, rubber boy, the tallest man, the smallest woman, the queen of tattoo, half rat/ half rabbit, Gaucho, the world's smallest horse - all ALIVE!!!! At least they were at one time, maybe not anymore. All are gigantic banner paintings of real people & animals who spent their lives on display in the sideshows that used to travel with circuses such as Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey and Hall & Christ.

Each Friday at noon, we've had performances to celebrate the excitement and daring of the circus. Aerial dancers, mod dancers, jazz ensembles, and even a sword swallower entertained us.

The show and performances brought people who have never been to the gallery - including circus animal trainers and retired performers. All with memories and a great love of the big top.

Bittersweet to say goodbye to the banners and their stories. Until next time the circus comes to town.....

momentum

A previous student, Salisu, emailed me this week. He asked about my life and I brought him up to speed.  His question to me was "Why are you are working at the University again? I thought you returned to Florida to follow your dream." "My dream?" I wondered to myself. What was my dream?
Isn't it- wasn't it - hasn't it always been - to explore, to learn, to teach, to eat, to share, to laugh, to love, to be loved, to play, to give, to take, to hope, to win, to fail, to always always keep keeping on????
What I know about me and what I guess I failed to explain clearly to my dear friend is that my dream is always to dream bigger, to do more - differently, each time than what I've done before.
This, unfortunately, isn't measurable and doesn't fit into a five year plan.
My dream is to move forward, to know more people, to have more experiences, to make a small difference in the world every single day.
I figure, if I'm going to dream - why not dream big?