When I first started riding, or attempting to ride a unicycle, my main goal was
to amuse sick children recovering in hospital by dressing as a unicycling clown.
While I haven’t reached this goal of actually performing yet, I am still working
towards it.
I first became a Shriner after many years pondering and preparing for this life
time goal, and having spending many sociable evening with fellow nobles (that
what we call each other in the Shrine) I realized that some day, maybe next
summer, I will be doing this!! There is alot more to becoming a Shriner than
simply joining. It normally takes quite alot of time and devotion. However, it
was definitely worth ever second. Shriners give approximate 17.00 per second,
that is approximately 25.00CAN to the 22 hospitals - the assistance provided to
children is amazing!!
I would like to know if other Shriners are a part of this newsgroup.
Derrick, I’m not a Shriner, but I am a member of the local Rotary Club. I’ve had
similar thoughts on entertaining for someone’s benefit (probably children), but
I’ve got a couple problems. I’m not quite skilled enough yet and my sense of
humor and social skills aren’t geared toward public performance, yet. These are
good goals, though, and you will most likely achieve them if you stick with it.
There are a number of people in the unicycling community who perform publicly.
There are links to their sites through various unicycling websites like the
Austin One Wheelers, UnicycleLady, Dusting Kelm, etc. Some do humorous and
whimsical acts like the idea you mentioned; others perform dazzling displays of
skill that are meant to be taken seriously. Some people are opposed to the idea
of unicyclists as clowns; others are, if not clowns, at least great humorous
performers on unicycles. I’ve only seen two public unicycle acts in my life, and
both involved some sort of humor and whimsical twists. Both were done in western
Washington in the late 80’s. One was Hillbilly Willie performing at a festival
in Anacortes. He played a violin on a six foot giraffe and kept time (faster and
slower) as he rocked back and forth in his idle. (I’m not sure if Hillbilly
Willie gave Kris Holm the idea to play violin on the unicycle, but they both
do). The other was a juggling act performed at the Bumbershoot festival in
Seattle. I think the two young men were from Bellingham, but I don’t know for
certain. They had a drummer for sound effects and made a great show of mounting
the giraffe (which required a good deal of skill as well as a sense of humor).
The sticks used in training don't have a great reputation and I'd agree
with this judgment. My folks bought me a pair with the Sears catalogue
unicycle I got for Christmas when I was a kid. I never used them. Falls
are pretty normal, but there are better ways to learn. The Unicycle Page
website has plenty of information on learning to ride and all of the
commonly practiced skills. Save yourself the time making the sticks and
reference the web page. It's easier and your child will learn faster.
This post has been a bit rambling and off the subject. The truth is
that I'm "grounded" because I'm waiting for some wrist guards to show
up in the mail. Although it's frustrating not riding, I've read enough
posts about broken wrists in the newsgroup that I'm not willing to risk
riding without them while I'm trying to learn skills. The newsgroup is
my only outlet to unicycling, and I've probably been abusing the
privilege a bit of late. The good news is that the wrist guards should
show up next week and I'll be spending less time on the computer and
more time on the unicycle.
Carl Trachte Morenci, Arizona
“D. L. Sheppard” wrote: > > When I first started riding, or attempting to ride a unicycle, my main goal > was to amuse sick children recovering in hospital by dressing as a unicycling > clown. While I haven’t reached this goal of actually performing yet, I am > still working towards it. > > I first became a Shriner after many years pondering and preparing for this > life time goal, and having spending many sociable evening with fellow nobles > (that what we call each other in the Shrine) I realized that some day, maybe > next summer, I will be doing this!! There is alot more to becoming a Shriner > than simply joining. It normally takes quite alot of time and devotion. > However, it was definitely worth ever second. Shriners give approximate 17.00 > per second, that is approximately 25.00CAN to the 22 hospitals - the > assistance provided to children is amazing!! > > I would like to know if other Shriners are a part of this newsgroup. > > Thanks once again for the assistance. > > Derrick