yes sir..step right up, you there..step right up

On my recent trip to NYC, I went to the huge Barnes and Noble bookstore in Union Square to pick up as many novels and goodies I can cram in a suitcase without paying an arm and a leg to bring back with me to Hong Kong.

I picked up this fantastic novel called " Geek Love" which a few circus friends of mine recommended. It's a great read about a family of side show performers that bred their own acts with the help of drugs, arsenic and radioisotopes.

Usually I try to stay away from anything circus related outside of work since I'm usually inundated with clown and circus crap when I tour with a show.

For example, my first two years with the North American show, Ringling Bros, my family and friends were able to come see me on the road.

They'll bring the assortment of food and snacks to feed the clowns (Fresh Chicken Soup if they happen to be my family) and then someone, just that one person, would bring me some cheesy

clown memorabilia. They mean well and it would come out like, "heh, heh, I saw this and thought of you."

And they would then hand it to me and expect me treasure it forever.

Okay....

uhm...

no..

 I have a huge trunk full of clown toys, clown dolls, circus books, circus magazines....

and on and on and on

So when someone suggested this book to me ,"Geek Love" by Katherine Dunn, about a side show family.

It really wasn't on top of my list..

But I am so glad I picked it up!

What a fun read! Perfect for a 15 hour plane ride around the world.

The issues it dealt with about what's normal and what's freakish was pretty compelling.

And there was this little paragraph that rung true for me:

"The truth is always an insult or joke. Lies are generally tastier. We love them. The nature of lies is to please. Truth has no concern for anyone's comfort." Being in the entertainment business, it seems to me that sometimes we need to put on a facade over a facade until we're not sure who we are anymore.

Maybe people do want to hear a lie or two just to be satiated with their brief meeting with you.

Maybe people do want to hear a lie or two just to be satisfied that they didn't wast their time by reading about you, writing about you, watching you.

I recall years ago when I used to help out a NYC based show called Bindlestiff Family Cirkus by barking a la PT Barnum outside their shows to fill the seats.

I would lie, bite and steal just to get those people through the door.

And they loved it.

I hope as I continue down this path that I don't lose sight of the truth.

Oh, and I did end up paying an arm and a leg to get those books to HK.