I sprinted to catch up with the man. He was making a beeline from a trailer to a circus truck. Suddenly he tripped, rolled into a somersault and staggered upright. The man didn't continue his path to the truck. Instead, he switched direction and ran straight toward me! I slowed to a puzzled halt.
The man tripped again. His head headed straight for the hard ground, but he caught himself in another somersault. He bounced to his feet, waist bent, his upper half stuck directly in front of him to form a right angle. He turned an imaginary crank on his side to slowly straighten by degrees.
"That's funnier, but not funny enough," he announced. "And it doesn't integrate into the theme."
"Huh?" My nimble mind stumbled.
"ValJohn," the man said, seizing my hand in a shake, "I play an escaped convict in all of my show bits."
"Oh! The clown," My nimble mind sprung to attention. ValJohn was the only performer I had not yet interviewed in this curious case. I'd already interrogated the knife-throwing duo Wanda and Earl, elephant Zelda, trainer Lou, contortionist Bill, as well as Davie and his amazing cats.
