Stammer, on the other hand, is just 25, but said he is no longer interested in performing. Writing is his main interest now. He said his association with the art was an invaluable stepping-stone, and possibly saved his life after he left home at age 11. It gave him a means of making money on the street   in this country, and later in Europe when he left for that continent in 1985. He performed to make enough money to eat, or to move on to another locale, and developed his art through associations with archivist Karl-Heinz Ziethen, Brunn, Ernest Montego, Circus Gruss in France and the TianJin acrobatic troupe in China.

He wound up with a respected stage act, incorporating up to seven balls, devil stick work and manipulation of a large silver staff. He dressed in black and performed with a hard­edged blank stare. "It's a violent style, the slash and burn school of juggling," he said. "I have a lot of aggressive emotions that I always dealt with through juggling."

Stammer dropped out of school when he left home, but has spent a great deal of time in libraries reading classical literature, much of it in its original language. He learned to read eight or nine languages fluently, including Russian and Chinese, and spent time in places like Thailand and Hong Kong.

He has lived a chameleon's life, sleeping on park benches and staying with millionaires. When asked about the sudden return to the USA and career as a businessman, he replied, "A criminal always returns to the scene of the crime! I was very young when I left the US and emotionally hadn't dealt with a lot of things. I was, quite frankly, afraid of coming back, and that prompted me to do it. I used to try to avoid things in my life, but I've changed in the last five years and am trying to deal with things now. I'm not comfortable as a capitalist and that's the very reason I'm doing it. I'm trying to overcome my anxieties."

However, opening the Juggling Capitol has temporarily diverted Stammer from his quest to publish his first novel, "Deadly Sins," which is about an old man who tries to dedicate each day of one week to one of the seven deadly sins. Stammer explained, "The novel concerns age and how one changes with age.  The characters attempts at sinning just don't work because he's too old."

Stammer said he's now working on a second novel, some autobiographical notes, a history book, a linguistics book, translations of some German writing, and an introduction to the second edition of Todd Strong's "Devil Stick Book." He is also working out the details to edit a second edition of Ziethen's "4000 Years ofJuggling," and is talking with Brunn about writing his biography.

As a homeless 16-year-old, Stammer rode a train crosscountry for 4 1/2 days to SUNY­Purchase because he heard Brunn was going to be at the IJA convention there in 1983. Francis didn't show up, but Stammer did meet Lotte Brunn and juggled for her. She helped him work on his body movement and choreography, and taught him to stop thinking about tricks and start thinking about a concept for his act. She also introduced him later to Francis, who was performing with the Big Apple Circus. They got to know each other better later in Paris, when Brunn and Enterline were at the Lido and Stammer was with the French National Circus. "We don't see each other often, and when we do we never talk about juggling, which is probably why we get along," Stammer said. "He's led a fascinating life, and is an exceptional person. It's irrelevant that he became a juggler. He's an exceptional juggler because he's an exceptional man."

Stammer said Brunn approached him about participating in the grand opening. "I almost fell on the floor when he said he wanted to come. I would never have asked him, but he made the overture. I'm glad he' did come, though, so that American jugglers could see him and he could see how much they appreciate his life and work."

The Juggling Capitol is open from 10 a.m.­6 p.m. weekdays and Saturday, and noon-6 p.m. on Sundays.