Employed 16 part 4

Sy, and his wife, Ditty owned the circus , but their two sons ran it. George, then nineteen, ran the ticket pre-sale, the division in which l worked when l started. All the booking agents (five or six of us) were George's team and he was in touch with each of us, by phone, at least once every day. Matt, 17 ran the physical big-top circus and all that is in it. When the circus is active, he is with it, and with him are a half-dozen old-time , deep-socket, know-it-all; do it all
real circus guys who totally have Matt's back. Considering his age and the 
"weight" of the job, Matt was a truly great boss. Those who worked in the show loved him like their own son.

My first assigned town was Fresno, then Bakersfield, then Riverside and Anaheim. ln the previous year, those four cities had hosted our circus, each
with either fire or police sponsorship. Prospective organizations are told that the circus will leave the grounds on which it is played as it was before  we arrived. l would learn that that was almost never done; post-holes are left where they lie
and even trash containers are left overflowing. That made it near impossible to book the same town in two consecutive years. (Some townspeople told me that they would never host "The Great American Circus" again. George said people are going to complain no matter what you do. Tell 'em we'll try to do better next time.
So, our first week as circus booking agents was a total bust. George said we just needed a change of scene. "Your application shows that you lived in D.C. for a couple of years in the 50s. You might do well there.  
End of E16 P4


Begin E16 P5
This piece is a little out of place, since it happened during the last couple of years that we were on Divisadero Street .

One day in late 1970, a young couple came to visit us, on the recommendation of friends  of theirs who had been a part of our place on D street a year-or-so
earlier. The new couple stayed with us for perhaps a couple of months or so.While they were with us they loaned us their van, (a near-new Ford Club Wagon) to move our people and their stuff to other parts of the city. Our guests,
who were planning an extended visit to China, where they intended to do a lot of exploring. They didn't want to take their van with them, but intended to put it in storage in San Francisco, while they rented a van in China.
During their stay with us, they noticed us and our work and decided to leave their van with us until they returned. That was a great gift for us because we had only an old Chevy Camaro that barely ran and was not much for moving people and their stuff. That Club Wagon did help us immencely. lt could carry all the people and stuff that needed moving.

We heard from our friends three or four times in the year that followed. But, in the year after that....nothing. By 1972, we had moved to the big property in French's Valley and the Club Wagon was still with us. We had come to regard it as our own.

l was in
Laketown  one day, on business and using the van. l made a Uturn on the town's main street and learned that such a turn is nor permitted. l got my ticket and went on my way.
The next day l was in Laketown again,but barely, when l saw more police cars than l would have thought present in a town much bigger than Laketown. And...
l was their only interest.

Of course, l was arrested (by then the authorities knew me and my record and they knew the van l was driving, was stolen.) The couple visiting China was never heard from again.
When we lived on  Divisadero Street l built good relationships with our neighbors. Most everybody on our block was a personal friend and l kept them all aware of what was happening in our place. That turned out to be a good thing, since everybody l was in conversation with, knew the van's owners, where
they were, and how l happened to be using it. 

Because of my record, everybody in the SanDiego police establishment was sure that l was guilty, including a sheriff's lieutenant that interviewed me. But that was not the end of it; l told the lieutenant about our friends, who left the van with me, and gave him a few of the names and phone numbers of some of the folks on D street. He went away for about  and hour and when he returned, he was smiling and had the key to my cell at the ready. l was out of jail and on the bus North in the blink of an eye.




































   
































Par