I never saw a carnival or circus in the years we lived on the farm. Oh, they were around but I never had the opportunity to check one out. All I knew about a circus was what I saw in the movies or on the newsreels. They usually came to town by train and paraded the entire company, elephants and all, down main street. What a wonderful publicity promotion. The calliope would be blaring out circus music like you hear on a merry-go-round. It looked like the life to have, going from city to city. What fun that would be, especially in America during World War II.

Yeah. Right. Think again. Circus life was not what it seemed. I later learned that, after I was married to Pug. Not the hard way, but through my girlfriend's sister. She was married to the owner of a small carnival. Everyone there was like family, she said. They even ate together. She also said it was a rough life, full of disappointments. They never knew what problems each other or the next town would offer. She was not happy.

My brothers. Rodney and Russell, felt the same attraction for circus life that I did. But they had a chance to go to a carnival. I think it was set up the other side of town, between us and the county seat. Rodney was fascinated. It looked like the life for him.

There was a trained dog act he especially liked. What fun it would be to work with dogs. The trainer noticed Rod's interest. He was always looking for someone new to work with the dogs. Living on the farm and going only to the eighth grade in a one room school, Rod was naive, to say the least. He was just the kind of person the dog trainer was looking for. Rod was offered a job caring for the dogs on the road. He would also be able to enjoy the rest of the carnival and make new friends. Rod didn't know the type of people he would be dealing with. They often were misfits or hiding from life and/or the law: a good place for vanishing.

Rod was thrilled with the opportunity to work with dogs and see the country. He asked Dad if he could go. Dad, seeing his enthusiasm, said he could. Rod was all of sixteen. He knew Rod would not be happy to miss this opportunity. Dad, cynically, knew it was too good to be true, but Rod would have to learn that for himself. It would be a good life lesson. I remember when Rod left. He only took a change of clothes or so. He didn't need much, he said. It was the chance of a lifetime.

Rod would soon become discouraged. It happened in Louisiana near New Orleans. That was when Dad received a phone call from a stressed-out Rodney. He wanted to come home. Carnival life wasn't what he thought it would be. His possessions were stolen, one by one. The trainer was brutal to the dogs and they in turn were as mean as snakes and hard to care for. What really bothered Rod was how cruel the trainer was to his dogs. It was not a happy situation.

He was mean to Rod as well. Rod even lost weight from the meager carnival diet. Rod had no one to stick up for him. He was at the mercy of the trainer. To make matters worse, Rod was never paid. All he got was a lot of promises. Rod yearned for home but had no money. He tearfully asked Dad to send him bus fare. Dad did. I never heard Rod speak of his experiences on the road except to say it wasn't the life for him. In a few years Rod would join the Navy.