HOWDY, MY NAME IS BILL STRONG, I'LL BE YOUR "24 HOUR MAN", ROUTING YOU INTO THE PAST TO SEE WHAT THE CIRCUS WAS IN DAYS GONE BY. IF YOU'RE LIKE ME, AND MISS WHAT IT USED TO BE, THEN COME ON ALONG AS WE GO DOWN THE ROAD FOLLOWING THE ARROWS BACKWARDS, TO "YESTERDAY'S TOWNS"! IF YOU HAVE CIRCUS RELATED PICTURES YOU WOULD LIKE POSTED, SEND THEM TO,,,,yesterday1@verizon.net,,,,AND WE WILL TRY TO FIT THEM IN. "24 HOUR MAN" WILL HAVE THE FINAL DECISION ON POSTING.
Three years at CWM made me a real traditionalist, and I keep remembering Bob Parkinson saying, "I want the people to see what the circus used to be, not what it is today. That's what this site is about!
If you guessed Danny Chapman, you were absolutely right, here he is with his pal Hogan. We feel quite proud of, & humbled by the inscription he wrote, because believe me, there is no comparing what happened to us, & what happened to Danny.
"Hialiah, Fla.
Where Bill & Trudy
joined us others in a
buster and came
through. Best of Luck.
Love
Danny Chapman
posted by 24-HOUR-MAN | 8:20 PM
7 Comments:
I remember something about this, but didn't know you at the time. I'm embarrassed to be vague on the details by now.
Roger, don't know if you saw them but there are pics of the Hialeah incident about half way down my May posts. Hard to believe we came out of that without a scratch. That's why I say there's no comparison, he got busted up pretty bad, but they made them tough back then. Did you know Danny was also a flyer before he did the Ladder Act, under the name Danny Gordon.
Another tough aerialist back then was Jimmy Troy, did you know he fell 9 times? The last one broke his neck, what a shame, I don't know of anyone who loved life like Jimmy, always rearing to go, I don't ever remember him having a negative attitude.
We were closing the '75 season for Suesz, in Hammond, Indiana, on November 30, when we got word Jimmy's last fall was fatal.
There. I found the pictures of the fallen rigging. Sometimes its too close a call. But these. Wow.
As I said this happened again 9 months later in Three Rivers< quebec.
A little side story, Ricky Wallenda was in a phone booth ouside the stadium and could see the tops of the poles, he looked away for a second, and when he looked back, there was only one pole. He said it ran chills up & down his back.
You were blessed to work another day. I know you know your business up there, but for me, you high act people take too many chances, that's all.
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