Juggling

The International Juggler's Association had it's 69th Festival in El Paso Texas this year, just down the road from here. My wife and I drove down I 10 to spectate at some of the goings on. I used to juggle a little, never with much proficiency - I could do some elementary tricks with three balls or three clubs, but it's been quite a few years.

I couldn't help picking up and hefting a few snazzy clubs, a torch or two, and even a battle-axe and a chain saw. Chain saws are heavy.

Friday night featured a fire show, with people juggling, spinning, etc all sorts of flaming objects, and Saturday night culminated in big professional show. If one does juggling in Las Vegas, or a circus, most of the audience has no clue what's going on and no appreciation of the technical difficulty or artistry needed to carry out the performance, but at the IJA one is performing for the elect, and they can really appreciate the cool stuff.

So I picked up three bean bags this morning and started throwing them around. One does not forget how, but I found my dexterity and precision so compromised that it took several tries before I could make 21 consecutive catches (a sort of benchmark of minimal proficiency). Now to get out some of those old clubs...

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