Tall Story

When I was a kid my parents gave me a trapeze for a present, and I rigged it from a tree in our backyard. I taught myself some truly hair-raising tricks on it. My folks were good about not taking it down and burning it, but I must have given them some bad moments. I also became adept at walking on stilts and riding a unicycle. My dad said repeatedly he was going to apprentice me to the circus. He was kidding, but I took him at his word, and to this day I regret he didn't make good on the promise. The circus or school? It was a no-brainer.