Of the various juggling patterns I know and have seen, I find the shower the most enjoyable and gratifying. There are no doubt many who will disagree, but I hope to show that a little imagination can put the cascade and shower on equal footing - or more appropriately - handing!

It is generally acknowledged that the circular pattern of the shower is more difficult than the criss-cross pattern of the cascade for three objects. Restricting ourselves to balls or beanbags, I feel this is true for up to five objects only.

When progressing to more objects, the cascade is at a disadvantage due to collisions which are not an inherent part of the shower. Secondly, the cascade pattern can only be symmetric by using odd numbers of objects, whereas the shower can be incremented by just one ball. Finally, the "weaker" hand which limits the quality of the cascade can truly remain weaker in a shower because it just catches and releases sideways.

In fact, a tighter, faster shower can be achieved by holding the catching hand, wrist and forearm vertically, palm pointing toward the other hand. In this manner, the catching hand pushes the balls downwards and across to the throwing hand. I also recommend using empty tennis balls for a sustained shower as fatigue soon sets in with weighted balls and beanbags.

Variety and speed can be added to a shower by bouncing the balls off a wall, off two walls by facing a corner or, most impressively, off a ceiling when the upstairs neighbors are away!

In the double-headed shower with four balls, each ball is thrown alternately in a small loop and large loop, such that a ball in a small loop overtakes the preceding ball traveling in a large loop. Such a shower can be visually enhanced by using two colors. A six ball double-headed or even triple-headed shower should be feasible for those with nimble fingers and ultra-fast reflexes.

Passing with the shower pattern can be very effective for a jaded audience and refreshing to jugglers.

I have recently been practicing what I call a "link-up move." Two people standing side-by-side and facing in opposite directions begin showering three and four balls respectively. On cue, each person throws to the other's receiving hand, thus creating a seven ball cascade. With practice, this pattern can be decoupled to two separate showers once again.

Showering face-to-face, however, is certainly the most breathtaking and satisfying pattern. It is surprisingly easy to pass eight or nine balls in this manner, and ten or eleven seem possible. A drop can be overlooked by the audience and even the second juggler because it does not alter the pattern as in cascade passing.

For three people and more, all the normal cascade passing positions can be used (fork, triangle, box, star) but with more objects for the same level of difficulty.

So, keep showering everybody, and I look forward to the year in which the numbers competition will be won by a seven ball shower juggler!