To Live and Die: The Life of a Carnie

Some say the great Western Outlaw Bill The Kid would have made a great Carny. He had small hands, we all know small hands are the trade mark of a great Carny.

In this expose, we will uncover the hardships of life of a Carny. You know them, you have seen them, ridiculed them, bonded with them maybe, envied them, maybe you are or were one.

We will start with a bit of a hall of fame if you will of great Carny folk. Here we lead off with a new addition to the great ranks:

Samuel Sullivan

The owner/operator of the great Sullivan Brothers Carnival. He once lead his carnival family with his brother, Joseph. A family feud forces Samuel to use his powers to kill his brother, and not he takes on the task of keeping if family safe on his own.

Moving on we have and old favorite:

Ben Hawkins

Ben Hawkins began his career as a young Oklahoma farmer and chain gang fugitive who was picked up by a traveling carnival when his mother died. Ben has inexplicable healing powers since childhood, and he has begun to suffer dreams and visions of people unknown to him. Ben's powers come with a price – to give life, he must take life; to raise the dead, he has to deliberately kill someone else.

And of course who could forget the all time number one Carny in the hall of fame!

Joe Dirt

Joe had a very short lived career, but a great one. He was searching for his parents and he found the top of our list of Carny greats.

I would like to add an honorable mention to the list.

Chris Bradley / Bolt

He gave power to the people. Literally. He used his mutant gift to power his carnival. He met an untimely death before he could go one to be a great. But the little time he spent as a Carny, was well deserving of being mentioned here in our report.

What do all of these great men have in common? The are men of the people, they are men that do what they need to do to survive, they are men that take care of their own. They all had powers. Joe didn't you say? Well what would you call his gift of motivation, he charged a generation, and he had a Hemi.

They Travel from town to town. Earning a living doing what they do best. When they come, our towns light up. They bring hope and entertainment. They bring us visions we never thought possible. They bring the Beer tent.

Who of us does not want to stand in a field or old dirt lot, drinking stale beer for $1? I know I do. Playing instant bingo, surrounded by Purple, Yellow and Green lights. Flashing, Glowing.

They live a life on the road. Moving from town to town to survive, not only for themselves, but for us. How could we get by without a little care free fun and entertainment. They pull us out of out ruts and give us freedom. They some and leave without a trace..... well sort of.

They give us promises of returning next year, and they always do. This is a win win relationship. They need us just as much as we need them. We co-habitate together. Two different species working together to make one home.

Do you ever get that itch, the scratch behind your ear or the tickle in your throat? What do you think that is? I'll let you in on a little secret, that it the travailing bug biting you. It's that part of you deep down inside that wants to join the ranks and be on our list of greats. Take a chance.

With a little slight of hand, they memorize us. Some may think of them as vagabonds, fools, or scum. But they take our money on their games of chance. We know we will never win, but we try anyway. They know we can not turn down a chance to win a prize. They are not scum, they are capitalists. We are the fools. We need to learn a lesson here, can you see it?

I have revived a 2010 nominee for the the list:

Toni Hoffman

She was bested in a fight. The end results were the loss of her face. She was in training to me an archer, but has moved on to knives. For not having a face, and her remaining eye is severely damaged from her bought with a superior appointment, she has deadly aim with a throwing knife. She preforms the Wheel of Death, picking out a member from the crowd for each show. Her ability is amazing, but can still use some improvement.

That is all, carry on.