The Balance of Work & Play

As we draw near to the finish of October, Halloween season, I turn reflective.

We’ve gone to the Myrtle Beach “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” to perform 12 shows in 2 days.  Exhausted, but managed to walk on the beach at midnight (while beautiful, I have to say that sand fleas SUCK), tossed some brews and whiskey back at The Bowery, and had one of the silliest evening walks ever.  We even ran into an old friend, Ted, on the beach of all places.

We’ve gone to the Gatlinburg “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” to perform 18 shows in 3 days.  Thrilling and so pumped we had a blast!  Walked alongside the river to the Mysterious Mansion and finally went through this haunt!  Enjoyed a nice dinner at a cabin on a mountain. After 5 years, I finally summoned the courage to ride the Ski-Lift, walked through a beautiful aquarium and marveled at the sharks, and had some interesting mountain pit stops to enjoy the changing color of the leaves.

We’ve gone to Atlanta’s Hot Air Balloon Festival, Owl-o-Ween, to perform 5 shows in 2 days.  Enjoyed the massive crowds and the event was a truly beautiful weekend filled with the Fall Spirit!  Saw many friends enjoying their families and the weather and caught up with fellow entertainers between shows.

I suppose what resonates with me after this reflection is the balance between work and play.  We bust our tails traveling for shows.  So much goes into packing props, costumes and ourselves.  Then there’s the household to mind while we’re gone.  The hound goes to the kennel, the children have destinations, lock this, unplug that, leave those lights on.  It can be overwhelming.  But, we do it all together.  People often ask how it is that we don’t kill each other, always together.  The answer is simply… goals.  We have the same goals.  We want to enjoy this life we have. So, we do.

The show is a reward.  I relish eliciting laughter from folks.  Captain prefers to shock the audience.  We both draw different experiences at the end of the day.  But, always remember to work and play.

World Sword Swallower’s Day

Each year, on the last Saturday of February, sword swallowers from around the world gather at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! locations to participate in this momentous event. The “simultaneous” swallow at 2:22PM on 2/22/14 promises to deliver some astounding sword swallow attempts and amazing physical feats!

Captain Stab-Tuggo, of Captain & Maybelle, will be appearing at the Gatlinburg, TN Ripley’s, alongside fellow sword swallower, Travis Fessler, of the duo Pickled Bros. Sideshow. This is Captain’s 5th year participating in this historical event and his 2nd year in Gatlinburg. WWSD has taken us to St. Augustine, FL and Orlando, FL in years past.

WWSD 2013, in Orlando, FL, Captain became a World Record Holder for “Weighted Sword Swallowing”, lifting an incredible 84 lbs attached to a sword that he swallowed! What does he have in store for 2014?

See y’all in Gatlinburg!