Carnies are born, they can’t be made. The Carnival Industry has always been made up of a certain type of person. That personality is a transient by nature, not materialistic, existing for the moment. These people do it for the love of it, they need to keep moving, dreaming, living just for this day, tomorrow comes tomorrow.

As I said in earlier posts, the Industry has been changing, and it is now completely changed over for the most part, things as they were are no more. It has been announced publicly that the Carnival as it was is now done. The new company doesn’t call it the Carnival on their site, they call it their “Traveling Amusement Park”, “Carnival” is a bad word.

Here’s the problem, a major one for the new guys that have bought the Carnival world. They require background checks on new employee’s, drug testing, and valid government ID. Because the industry pays shit wages, they have had to ship in South Africans to fill the openings. These kids will work for the $450 a week because it’s big money in their country, but they only last a season or two, that’s it, they’re not Carnies. They have their little adventure and then move on with life, the industry is not their life, it’s fun for now.

For Carnies it’s different, they don’t care about the money, they do it for the reasons I’ve already stated, you can get longevity out of a Carny. The equipment cost’s so much to move over a season that the industry can’t make a profit paying top dollar, that’s why the wages have always been shit, and always will be.

The new “Rules” the corporation has put in place lock Carnies out in the cold, most of them can’t pass a drug test, or a background check, sad but true. Locking them out was the intention. The corporation wants to really “Clean” things up they say, like they’re so much fucking better, spare me.

The South African kids will last for a couple years, they’ll come and go. The new corporation will constantly be having to train newbies for their new “Cleaned” up show, year in and year out. I personally don’t think the big wigs will look so smug in a few years, like they do now in their publicity photo’s, they’ll be fucked eventually

I had a couple of companies offer me a job for the upcoming season, I listened to their offers but passed in a nice friendly way. I’m too old to start at the bottom. I only speak for me though, it’s my opinion, some of the other long timers are going to give it a go and see how it works out, I think I already know. The new corporation offered me a job too, yep, doing the exact same thing as I’ve been doing for years now, I’d be in charge of my department. I laughed, I’m a Carny, not one of them.

Some of the people from the old show are going to stick with the new corporation, a lot of them are gone now, all the power to them, you gotta do what you gotta do and I don’t judge anyone of them. I can’t do it though, I’ll never allow myself to be in a position where I have to answer to someone that knows less than I do about my job…ever. In the old days the guy I answered to knew my job inside and out, because he had come up doing it. Now, you answer to an administrator, someone who “Thinks” they know your job, because they have a title. We all make our own bed in this life, whether we like to admit it or not. No one talks “down” to me, because I never talk “Up” to anyone. I don’t need money, or status, or power,to be like that. I am me. I define me. that’s all I need. I’m just a Carny though, what do I fucking know.