JW: Why do think the book was so successful? Do you think it was something about the times that made people ready for it?

JC: I think it would have worked any time, mostly because people have aspirations to be a star, a celebrity or a hero of one sort or another. Plus it's a kind of funny little activity. If nobody knew how to whistle or snap their fingers, except for a few performers, and you could offer instructions on how to whistle and snap your fingers, you'd probably do pretty well at that, too.

 

Plus, it also has the appearance of a great deal of magic and difficulty, whereas the substance of it turns out to be much different. Most things that appear to be difficult turn out to be difficult, like playing the piano, for example. But juggling appears to be far more difficult than it really is, so it's one of those rare activities.

 

JW: Who taught you how to juggle?

JC: I think that I was taught by Rimbeau, who is one of my partners. I was actually inspired to learn by this performer I saw - or a hitchhiker. Was it a hitchhiker? I can't remember if it was a guy I saw in White Plaza once or if it was a hitch hiker. Maybe that hitchhiker showed Rimbeau and Rimbeau learned and then I saw it being performed on campus by a guy and I came home and Rimbeau said, "Some guy showed me once." So over the course of an hour or so in our kitchen we went through a bunch of fruit and learned how.

 

JW: Do you remember what kind of fruit it was?

JC: (Laughs) No, I don't remember that.  I just remember it was bruised when we were done.

 

JW: Do you ever think about your place in the juggling movement?

JC: Place in the juggling movement? I'm not sure I look at myself in that broad a context. Juggling is probably a lot more popular now than it was then, maybe partially as a result of the book. But it probably had something to do with the times. It's much more popular in Europe now than it was 15 years ago, and that's not a result of the book. So it's probably some cultural tide, solar winds or something metaphysical. Is magic more popular now? Clowning? Facepainting is much more popular now than it was ten years ago. You draw the connection.

 

JW: Do you realize you're a cult hero in the jugglers' world?

JC: Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if those who popularized juggling are viewed as being cult villains because of the demystifying of it. Although my own feeling has always been that by showing the masses step 1, they become far more appreciative of step 100, which is where all the performers are anyway. If any performer has his act devalued by the fact that someone in the audience can do a regular little cascade, then their act is probably not terribly elevated. It's like people who learn how to shoot baskets and dribble around on a high school court becoming less appreciative audiences of the NBA. It's unlikely.

 

JW: Do you ever juggle now?

JC: From time to time. For my kids or their friends. I have always been a disappointment to people who expect a better juggler than they get. Everybody always wants to know how many I can do. The truth is four, although occasionally I will not tell the truth. Depends on who's asking.

JW: What do you tell your kids?

JC: They usually get the truth because they stand around long enough to badger me. I have on the radio done many more than four. I used to do a lot of radio interviews on juggling and I'd do many more than four at that time.

 

JW: Do you still juggle for Project Hope, at parties for the sheltered workshops that put together your books and bags?

JC: I do. Halloween, mostly, and Christmas sometimes. They are a great audience

for me because most of them are disabled to one degree or another so almost anything looks to be impressive. Plus, they're an extremely polite group and they will clap, which is in contrast to a lot of my audiences.

 

JW: Your kids won't clap for you?

JC: No, they've long since stopped doing that. In fact, I don't think they ever did. Clapping for me is one thing my kids never do.

 

JW: Tell me more about juggling for Project Hope parties.

JC: Well, once I juggled pumpkins for them. That could have been the highlight of my performance career, as a matter of act. Because there were a lot of them there and they got a kick out of it. And it's been downhill before and since.

 

JW: Have your kids wanted to learn to juggle?

JC: No, they haven't. That's funny, because they also can't stand to listen to my wife sing, and quite popular as a professional kids music singer. With juggling, my kids are the same way. I can use it to get them out of the room. I can juggle and they run.

 

JW: Do you keep up with what's going on in juggling these days?

JC: I see Juggler's World. Incidentally, that has also grown a great deal in ten years in terms of slickness and size.

 

JW: Do you have any favorite jugglers?

JC: No. I read about a guy named Michael Davis who sounds funny but I have never seen him. We don't have a TV at home so unless jugglers perform on the radio, I don't get a chance to see them.