History

I’m often asked is if there’s a history of circus in my family. To my knowledge the answer is no. I am, however, of Eastern European decent on both sides, so I can’t help but hope that if you were to look hard enough, there might just be some folks hanging from my family tree by their toes.

Though I may not have any relatives of the sawdust kicking variety, my family does have one claim to fame in the way of circus connections.

Back in the day, my dad’s side of the family used to hang out with the Wallendas.

I’m not too clear on the details other than that they stayed at my grandfather’s hotel back in the 50s or 60s. My family even went down to visit them down in Sarasota. Family lore has it that my grandfather invested in the Wallendas and then lost out big for some reason or other. Come to think of it, that might explain my grandfather’s dislike of my chosen career path…

All that’s left of that connection now are some signed photographs, the most wonderful of which is this one:

Is that the best family heirloom ever or what?