There were other Florida people, too. Keith Watson and Ed Kosco juggle in Tampa as the Jasper Juggling Company. Seems their specialty is squashing melons. Yecch! What a mess! They impressed me, though, when they passed machetes back and forth standing on rola bolas!

 

This girl with 'em, Jolene Koby, was a cook in the Navy and didn't even juggle when she got there. But she did by the time she left! She jumped in and helped out with the videotaping, too. That was typical. These guys seemed pretty unorganized, but people were always ready to help. It reminded me of a family reunion - I mean the regular kind, not like the one with the Gambinos and Carmines in Chicago.

 

The videotapes were better than any things I ever saw on "Monday Night Football," by the way. This guy Barry Bakalor ran them non-stop in a little side room, and a couple of the propmakers had some too. I couldn't sneak away to see many, though, because I had an important post to guard.

 

I almost turned back Andrew Allen, a weird looking kid with orange hair dressed all in black. I thought he might be a subversive or something, but he turned out to be alright. Heck of a juggler, too! You couldn't keep up with his hands when he did his three balls. Dancing, shucking and jiving all over the floor!

 

Talk about all over the floor, you shoulda seen Scott Burton. He was lying on his back juggling balls between his legs! These people were used to all sorts of things, but let me tell you, that turned a few heads besides mine!

 

Nowell Franco was this young girl who musta been a champion jump roper in another life. I saw her toss this diablo thing up in the air and jump over the string twice before she caught it again!

 

A fellow named Todd Strong from Seattle told me he used to sell 2,000 of these things called "devil sticks" a year, but was out of the business now. He's hoping they'll become folk toys. After trying to learn to use it, though, I doubt it. I also know why they call it a devil stick - it's the devil to handle!

 

Not even flower pots were out of place. Dale Jones was tossing up and catching five of them. He claimed I'd never see it anywhere else and, so far, he's right!

 

Just about everybody there could handle three or four of something, and a lot could handle five. But there were a few people trying outrageous things! Maybe I was hallucinating from no sleep, but by mid-week I think I saw Dan Bennett toss 10 bean bags in the air and catch them. Robert York was practicing the same thing, and Albert Lucas showed it off in a workshop on Saturday. He did ten rings as well, and said he would've done 12 but didn't have enough ceiling height.

 

Lucas was sort of a hero.  He won six of the eight championships he entered, and ended up spending a lot of time on the convention floor between his shows at the Hacienda Hotel.  I think he was glad to be off his ice skates and standing on concrete, to tell you the truth.  He sure took to the cinders like a fly to honey.  I heard he won this 100-meter race where you juggle and run at the same time! The sucker did it in under 13 seconds for some kind of record. He also kept juggling five clubs for more than 21 minutes. I mean, that's impressive and all, but it's about as exciting as watching cars pass on I-15!

 

A bunch of other people were pointed out to me as stars in the juggling galaxy. Lucas' brother David Lee was there and won the Juniors Championship. He started juggling at age 3, and is only 15 now. He said he could throw up and catch 10 rings. He and another Las Vegas show juggler, Dick Franco, each bought seven clubs (I used to think they were bowling pins, but now I'm smarter than all my friends!) so they could practice for next year's championships in Atlanta!

 

A big strapping Argentine guy, Jose Armando Pueyrredon, came by after his show one night at the Holiday Casino and seemed awestruck by all the activity. I guess they don't have jugglers conventions in Argentina.