The Flea Circus

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How Truth is Stranger Than Fiction:

ONE AFTERNOON I WAS LOOKING FOR A "STORY STARTER". I began by searching for songs in the public domain. "The Man on the Flying Trapeze" was a catchy tune I had enjoyed as a little girl. But I wanted to take something old and give it a twist. What about fleas? I had heard of a flea circus but I never understood what that reference was all about. So I did a quick Google Search and was BLOWN AWAY by the results . . .

A flea circus: "The Go-As-You-Please Race, as seen through a Magnifying Glass", from St. Nicholas Magazine, USA, 1886

A flea circus: "The Go-As-You-Please Race, as seen through a Magnifying Glass", from St. Nicholas Magazine, USA, 1886

There was such a thing as an ACTUAL FLEA CIRCUS! . . . Seriously!!! The earliest Flea Circuses date as far back as the 1500's!!! Watchmakers would demonstrate their skills by constructing tiny harnesses out of gold wire and tying it around the neck of a flea . . . Seriously!!! The fleas would then be tethered to a variety of props and "perform" by walking or hopping around with the prop in tow. Fleas have been known to pull miniature carts or operate teensy-weensy Ferris-wheels that are spun by a running flea... SERIOUSLY!!!! 

I looked at pictures of these flea circuses for hours. I continue to be impressed by these little creatures. Yes, fleas bite, and I would NEVER invite them over to my house as dinner guests. But I would certainly cheer them on at a Flea Circus!

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Flea-Nomenal!

 

Quil's Postcards

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How A First Grade Assignment "Launched" Me:

IN THE FIRST GRADE. . .  our class read the book "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown. It's the story of a little boy named Stanley who flattened himself, so he could fit in envelope, and travel all around the world via the mail. We constructed our own flat people "avatars" out of colorful paper. My "Flat Angela" had big curly hair and even BIGGER glasses. I sent her to my aunt in California who promised to take Flat Angela all around the Bay Area. I couldn't wait to hear about Flat Angela's trip! I would get off the school bus and race over to the mailbox every afternoon. Days went by with no reply. But then... one by one... the postcards came in the mail. Flat Angela went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium! Flat Angela took a stroll down Fisherman's Wharf! Flat Angela EVEN got to peer over the steep rocky cliffs at Big Sur and see the Pacific ocean! 

      I cherished these postcards. They were MAGICAL to me. I wanted to send and receive even more mail! I had a few other pen pals over the years and have continued to collect postcards. Checking the mailbox each day after school was like opening a porthole of possibilities. I wanted to write a story of my own that could get children REALLY excited about... mail.

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      Perhaps if the mail came from another planet? A message in a bottle rocket! Who is this letter coming from? A cool space friend named Quil!!! I began to imagine a whole 'nother planet called Quark, where the little space friend would live. Quil may be from another planet but by becoming pen pals and exchanging postcards, Earth Kids just may find they have a lot in common!

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I still collect postcards. Some even date back to the early 1900's

 

Digger's Daily Routine

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How Goofing Off Can Lead To Great Things:

ONE DAY IN YOGA CLASS . . . My mind began to wander. We were in the middle of a LONG "downward-dog". I started thinking about how adorable it is when a dog does its stretches. I began to picture a big doofy dog in my head waking up and doing a sun salutation routine. "What else would this dog's day look like?" 

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      For the rest of yoga class, I daydreamed about noble dog's daily routine. Then we neared the end of class and closed our eyes for Shavasana. Laying on the mat with my eyes closed I could perfectly visualize the character of Digger the Dog in my mind. What would his journey look like and where would he end up in the end? I thought of a lesson I had learned countless times. Even though routines can be good, sometimes when the unexpected happens, we can change for the better. I thought of the long traditions of meditations in caves. How sometimes going inside, into the dark, we can find ourselves and our light... and also... Dogs are SUPER ADORABLE!!! 

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Inspired by Yoga

Adorable Dog Videos:

Fly Home Birdie

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How A Bird Planted A Seed:

ONE WHIMSICAL MORNING . . . I looked out my window and saw a bird sitting on my car roof looking back at me. It was early spring but we had a late snow storm just roll into Portland Maine. I grabbed my bird book and discovered that my new friend was a Northern Mockingbird. It was eating the berries off the vine that curled up the side of my house. For two weeks the bird became a fixture in my driveway. I saw it every day and called it... "Birdie." Birdie let me get very close, especially if I was bringing berries for a snack. Then one day, I woke up to a sudden warm snap of sunny weather. Birdie was gone. The little Mockingbird just needed a safe place to ride out the cold and the storm. Then it had continued on with its migration further to the north. 

      I decided to write a story about a Bird and the changing seasons.

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      This was the story that started it all! I wrote the words and recorded a demo podcast episode in the fall of 2016. Then I shared it with a few friends who had little children. It was the most terrifying and exhilarating sensation EVER!

      I first heard back from one of my dear friends, who told me that her 2-year-old son wanted to listen to "Fly Home Birdie" over . . . and over... and over again. I was overwhelmed with the feeling that THIS could BE something. More and more friends shared the demo with their friends. Soon little children, who I had never even met, were asking for more stories. So I made some more . . .

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The little Northern Mockingbird that inspired Birdie