A one-ring circus

I have had five different paid part-time jobs and held several volunteer positions since moving here 11 years ago to semi-retire. I am certainly not alone in this jack-of-all-trades kind of behavior. Every time I look around, I see someone I know in a place where I don't expect to see them.

Yesterday, I stopped by the WYSO booth at the Cityfolk Festival and there was someone I knew from AUM, the Sunrise Cafe and later the Chamber of Commerce office. Other people, I have known have been a self-employed seamstress, also from AUM, who moved on to the newspaper, WYSO and Glen Helen. A current News reporter used to be at Community Solutions. Yoga instructors and massage therapists have been waitresses and musicians. The list is too long to go through in its entirety

"That's what I love about Yellow Springs," Station Manager Neenah Ellis said when I expressed surprise at seeing my friend in her new position with WYSO.

This brought to mind a tiny circus from Taiwan I happened to see when I was stationed on a small island in the East China Sea in the mid-sixties. Everyone in the circus seemed to be involved in everything. A girl tending the animals could later be seen performing on the trapeze; a man selling tickets would soon be walking the high-wire and would later perform a dangerous motorcycle stunt. It added to the suspense. In fact it was breathtaking.

The analogy amuses me. Could this little circus exist without its multi-talented performers?

-vh