Dear Crushed,

Smooth move! Your best bet to un-crush your diabolo is heat, low heat like a warm sunny window or a heat lamp. Try reshaping the ends after it's fully warmed. Next step up the heat scale would be heated, not boiling, water. This may not help but it's worth a try. Next you'll need some protection for your reborn diabolo, or the new one you get from Santa. The cheapest & easiest protection is put it in on TOP of the bag, fool. Beyond that, the range of protection runs from an empty oatmeal box (take the diabolo to the store to check or wind up eating LOTS of oatmeal) to a piece of plastic drain pipe. For REAL diabolo protection check out the Mark III k MOD II Container, Nuclear Fuse. They list for $35,000 each but your diabolo will be safe through a 10 rnegaton detonation. The best bet is probably a short fat mailing tube. You'll have to check with office supplies stores or places like Mail Boxes & More. Until you find the RIGHT protection for you, be sure to practice "Safe Diabolo" and keep it on top of the prop bag.

Dear Professor,

I've been juggling for about a year with homemade and toy store equipment. I got several catalogs from prop vendors and a serious case of sticker shock! How can a SINGLE!! club be worth $30-plus let alone a silicone ball for over $40?

Dear Shocked,

Think of props as tools. Have you ever had to drive a nail into a piece of wood? You can go find a rock that fits your hand and it WILL drive the nail. You can also get down to "Bargains-Is-Us" and get a hammer for two bucks. The $15 model from "Tool City" will do a better job with less effort. Or, you could go whole hog and spend $50 for "Super Pro" hammer from the specialty store with a lifesized cardboard "Norm" nailed to the door. Any of these tools will drive the nail. All of them, beyond the rock, are nothing more than a wooden handle and metal head. But, the better (read as, more money) the hammer the more it feels like a part of your hand and arm. The same Universal Truth applies to clubs. Always buy the best tool you can afford. They WILL be worth it in the long run. (Watch for a future column from the opposite point of view, "How to Juggle Through Europe on Less Than $5 per Prop.")