A Mudshow Season

May 7th. Platte City, MO. 65 miles. Grass lot. Overcast. Awakened for a 5:30 call this morning to discover that the fuel tanks on my truck were empty. The truck was used for a hay run yesterday. The only station that sold road diesel in Lexington didn’t open until 9AM. Call the show mechanic who left for Hugo, OK yesterday looking for new cat truck ramps and props and told him to notify show office that I would be late. By the time I arrived in Platte City at least some people were convinced that I had blown the show taking the seat wagon with me. It’s like that here right now. I like every single person on Culpepper & Merriweather. I believe that Trey Key does a great job juggling numbers, and James “BJ” Hebert the concessions boss represents the institutional memory of this nearly 25 year old show born in the brilliant imagination of Red Johnson and brought to life by the dedications of so many people who believed they could create a slightly different kind of traditional circus. It’s easy to understand why CM was so beloved in its Arizona years.