Fingers

While in Spain, I was constantly bombarded with questions about my life at the circus and what exactly it is that I do. Fortunately I had an opportunity to give a presentation on the subject. Part of that presentation focused on the finer points of German wheel. For example, I showed this picture of myself on wheel in order to demonstrate what straight-line figures are. 

 

After the presentation, the more astute among the crowd only had one question that absolutely needed asking: “If your hands are closed around the wheel, and the wheel keeps rolling, what happens to your fingers?”

The answer, of course, is that I simply open my hands. The only time you can really run over your fingers is when all your weight is on your hands, so you really are quite secure. By the time the problem of remaining connected to the wheel comes up, you’re already back in a position to close your hands back around the rims.

The question that inevitably follows is, “Have you ever run over your fingers?”

The answer to that is even easier: “Yes. But you only ever do that once.”