Tony Buechner, who performs in the Baltimore, Md., area as "Butterfingers," says that juggling is a wonderful way to avoid "geezerhood."

 

The 65-year-old new retiree put up his juggling props in the early 1950s, but has recently picked them up to juggle in community service roles around town, including as a greeting for bus loads of school children visiting the Maryland Science Center.

 

. Issue 11 of the business magazine "Fast Company" recently printed a profile of Michael Moshen under the headline "Juggle More Balls." In the article Moshen discusses his mental approach to juggling, including such concepts as "Bad

Habits Have Big Consequences," "Accept the Unexpected," "Balance=Stillness," "Learn What to Watch," "Break the Task Down," and "Get Comfortable with Failure."

 

. Gena Shvartsman participated in circus festivals in Hungary and Paris in January, then returned to America, where she has begun a year-long engagement as a center

ring act with the Hanneford Circus.

 

While Gena and her father, Yvgeni, were on tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus, The Quad Cities Juggling Club hosted them at a club meeting for a couple of hours. Gena performed many of the tricks she doesn't use in her circus act, and Yvgeni enjoyed telling circus stories and showing some of his comedy work with a single club or ball.

 

. Michael "Tuba" Heatherton performed as a strolling comic, ukulele playing juggler at "The Baseball Cafe" in Tokyo , Japan , for the month of February. This was his 9th time to "the land of the rising sun" as a juggler or juggling teacher.

 

. Comedy juggler Jack Swersie worked in Michigan with Neil Sedaka and on Long Island with the band Alabama . In mid-January he opened for Phoebe Snow at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City .

 

. In baby news... Congratulations to The Checkerboard Guy, David Aiken, and his wife, Emiko, on the birth of their first child, a son named Koji Graham Aiken, who was born November 23, in Vancouver , B.C. Also, Jack and Kathy Kalvan announce the birth of their first child, a daughter named Ellen Dana Kalvan, on February 7.             .

 

. Finally, we salute the Baltimore Juggler's Association for the following description of our favorite activity, as they printed it across the masthead of a recent "Gazette" newsletter... "Juggling: a co-ed, multi-cultural, cross-generational, non-violent, non-polluting sport that's just plain fun!"