I am 50, almost 51. I began juggling as a 14 year old high school student in 1976. Juggling almost every day since then, either in practice or, since 1979 in shows as well, has placed a lot of wear and tear on my arms. I have learned to compensate for tendinitis in a variety of ways, most recently with a discovery that has made performing linear objects (clubs, torches, rackets and other items that flip) much easier again. For the first time in years I’ve been able to do full routines with these types of props. I feel 45 again!

So recent practices involve a lot of ‘trouble shooting’; figuring out new ways to do things that had been easy for years. I handle fire torches and knives more like bar bottles than clubs. I juggle 4 and 5 rings with my right foot behind my left rather than parallel. And for some reason, when I juggle three rings, I do a lot better if I don’t use my left ring finger in my grip. Hats, numbers juggling with balls, and some mixed props tricks also have required adaptations.

Still, I keep going, and never want to stop. I don’t want to become one of those old guys who go around retelling the same handful of stories about my glory days. Am I fighting aging? Perhaps. After all, I’ve never been 50 before, but as long as I can keep at it, and as long as groups still want my family and me to come perform, we will.