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6.18.13

I Come From Circus Folk:
Synchronicity on Pinterest

Really, I do. My maternal grandmother, Louise Lee, was one of the Gladstone Sisters, an acrobatic Vaudeville act. Her husband, Duke R. Lee, was a carny, sharp shooter, dance man, silent film actor, stunt man, and circus performer in the Tom Mix Circus, along with my father and uncle.He was also in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. On my mother's side, her relatives included the actors Tamara Shayne and Akim Tamiroff (Akim, it is said, was an inspiration for the Boris Badenov character on the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. I wrote about this for BoA in a 2010 Trickster's Realm.)

Other family history includes my maternal grandfather's career as a Buddhist, Theosophist, Jewish scholar, mayor, map maker, president of the Oregon Vegetarian Society, and, yes, 32nd degree Mason. He was also an author, writing on historical Oregon, and Madame Blavatsky

I have a blog devoted to this eclectic theatrical history, as well as a board on Pinterest: I Come From Circus Folk. I include photos, when I can find them, of my family, but also photos of circuses, carnivals, performers, etc. that I find interesting.

TodayI noticed someone had followed my circus folk board. Her name is "Ginny." I found this a little startling because Ginny was the name of one of my cousins -- one of my uncles' daughters. Of course her name was Virginia but everyone called her Ginny.

Adding to that bit of synchronicity was the lead photo she had on one of her boards: a photo of Spanky from Our Gang. Last night, for some reason, Jim started talking about Our Gang -- how he remembered, at age five or so, being "confused" by that show. He never got it, he said, and what time period was it supposed to be in? Now? (meaning, early fifties.) But it didn't seem like the fifities. I had to laugh, in surprise, because I remember thinking, at age four and five, the very same thing! I didn't like the show when I was a kid, I thought it weird and dumb, and that maybe I was missing something. And I too was confused by the show. We both agreed it probably led into a program we liked, but neither one of us can remember what it was.

You might be thinking what this has to with Trickster or esoterica. Well, circuses, clowns, carnivals and related areas have always held a barely submerged vibe of weirdness, frequently outright weirdness. Strange, dark, mysterious, creepy, different, literally on the fringe -- of society, of politics, of performance, of human abliilties and characteristics.