5/28/17 Human Cannonball
Low 70s and mostly sunny but still unpleasantly humid.
When I was in college I remember reading a story somewhere about a human cannonball. I forget the guy's name but at the time he was approaching retirement age (whatever age that is for human cannonballs, there was no number given) but he wondered if he could give it up. See, he was really good at his job of being a human cannonball and the crowds loved him and he loved the adulation of the crowds. When he wasn't being a human cannonball nobody knew who he was or particularly cared about him. Even his coworkers at the circus didn't really care about him. They didn't dislike him or treat him poorly exactly but they didn't go out of their way to socialize with him or even check on how he was feeling every night after he did his act. However when he was human cannonball all eyes were on him and for a few moments he was the center of and the most beloved thing in his universe.
Being a human cannonball catches up with you though, and he was having health problems. Arthritis, tinnitus, and some digestive problems brought on by the repeated shocks to the system that come from being fired out of a compressed air cannon and landing on a net or in the water day after day after day. He was torn, however, because he knew if he ever stopped being a human cannonball it would be like those times between performances. Nobody would care or ask after him and he would likely fade away and maybe even become literally invisible.
I'm not 100% sure how his story turned out. I just did an Internet search of people who died by accident when performing as human cannonballs and I didn't see a name that looked familiar. Then again it would be hard to find out if he died due to the side effects of being a human cannonball for too long because that doesn't make the news. I wish I remembered his exact name so I could find out but I guess I never will. I wonder if anyone ever wound up caring for him outside of his performances or if he just had that few seconds of ecstatic recognition every day until it broke him.
When I was in college I remember reading a story somewhere about a human cannonball. I forget the guy's name but at the time he was approaching retirement age (whatever age that is for human cannonballs, there was no number given) but he wondered if he could give it up. See, he was really good at his job of being a human cannonball and the crowds loved him and he loved the adulation of the crowds. When he wasn't being a human cannonball nobody knew who he was or particularly cared about him. Even his coworkers at the circus didn't really care about him. They didn't dislike him or treat him poorly exactly but they didn't go out of their way to socialize with him or even check on how he was feeling every night after he did his act. However when he was human cannonball all eyes were on him and for a few moments he was the center of and the most beloved thing in his universe.
Being a human cannonball catches up with you though, and he was having health problems. Arthritis, tinnitus, and some digestive problems brought on by the repeated shocks to the system that come from being fired out of a compressed air cannon and landing on a net or in the water day after day after day. He was torn, however, because he knew if he ever stopped being a human cannonball it would be like those times between performances. Nobody would care or ask after him and he would likely fade away and maybe even become literally invisible.
I'm not 100% sure how his story turned out. I just did an Internet search of people who died by accident when performing as human cannonballs and I didn't see a name that looked familiar. Then again it would be hard to find out if he died due to the side effects of being a human cannonball for too long because that doesn't make the news. I wish I remembered his exact name so I could find out but I guess I never will. I wonder if anyone ever wound up caring for him outside of his performances or if he just had that few seconds of ecstatic recognition every day until it broke him.
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