Where, oh where, is Juggling 101 at the high school or even elementary level? Juggling, it might be argued, is the ultimate skill. Whether you're juggling careers, kids, crises or bowling pins, juggling is the pinnacle of multitasking efficiency and should certainly be required of anyone going into management or entertainment.
Consider Allan Jacobs. He learned juggling in college (albeit from his roommate and not in the classroom), and in 1977 he graduated and began earning his living as a performer. He co-founded the troupe Slap Happy, which toured for several years, and taught at Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Clown College. Barrett Felker learned the craft from his cousin and has also been making a living from it since the late '70s (including many tours with the Harlem Globetrotters). Between them, Jacobs and Felker have seen and been seen by the world in circuses, on college campuses and on television, all thanks to juggling. In 1987 the two joined forces as the Gizmo Guys and have been entertaining adults and children worldwide with their blend of flawless technique and rapid-fire humor (do you think Don Rickles could so much as hula-hoop between jokes?). The Gizmo Guys appear at 7:30 p.m. at the Chesterfield Community Theater in the West County YMCA (16464 Burkhardt Place, 636-532-6515, ext. 505). Tickets are $3 to $8, so have fun and learn valuable life skills. -- Jedidiah Ayres
It's Not Easy Being Green
Godzilla at 50
SAT 3/20
Word out of Japan is that Toho Studios is killing off Godzilla for the third time. Rather unsporting of them, because it's the big guy's 50th birthday this year. The Red K One-Day Comic Book and Toy Show at the Holiday Inn Select-St. Peter's (4341 Veterans Memorial Parkway, 636-940-1244) features a tribute to Godzilla with a (fittingly) massive display of vintage Japanese Godzilla toys and a few special events throughout the day (if that includes a cake, stand back when G. blows out the candles). Mike Allred and Rick Burchett are the special guests at the show, and both will probably have a few kind words to say about the King of the Monsters. Admission is $2, free for kids younger than ten, and the show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- Paul Friswold
