Spirit Magazine - August 2013 - (Page 68)

He tells a story of how, just a few days before, in the middle of a 4 p.m. show, he ran into his parents’ trailer to make a costume change. “They were in there napping on the couch—in the middle of the pony act!” he says and laughs. Careful not to wake them, he quietly lifted his costume and raced back out to the show. That catnap would have been unimaginable a few years ago, but Jesse’s now there to ease his parents’ burden. “It’s good to be able to give them that,” he says, “because they’ve given me so much.” T he word “tradition” is spoken regularly by the Plunkett family. It isn’t used in a stuffy way, like old-money types gassing on about decorum. It’s shorthand for the circus, the itinerant lifestyle, the craft, the heritage—all of which are sources of great pride for them. “I’m thrilled to death that Jesse wants to carry on the tradition,” Cristine says, even though she dearly wanted her son to finish his schooling. This is the weight of carrying forward a family legacy, the fine line between inherited responsibility and personal sacrifice. The Plunketts’ ancestors traveled by wagon. They entered the circus by accident—one was a dishwasher working for Buffalo Bill, the other a velvet-voiced panhandler literally kidnapped and forced to sing on the road. Each had children who grew up knowing little else but the circus life. And how carefree that once must have been, back when clowns and jugglers were in demand because mass entertainment was harder to come by. The Plunketts’ ancestors lived in a younger country, one with less upward mobility. Their roles were clear; their paths fixed. Jesse’s challenge is more complex: In going to college, he was encouraged to step beyond a community in which he already knew his place. “All of a sudden you’ve got to rebuild, you know? And find your identity,” he says. In high school, he was a big man on campus—the star jock, a promising scholar, the circus kid, a rural success story. At SMU, among the children of Dallas’ elite? “It seemed like the kids there were entitled to be there. One’s mom is the CEO of Victoria’s Secret. He lived in my dorm. I was like, ‘Your mom owns Victoria’s Secret?’ It’s heavy-duty; heavy-duty people. And I was like, ‘My dad owns a circus.’” Plenty of college kids plow through these crises of self and set a course for their adult lives. If Jesse were just another boy shocked to discover that his strutting high school persona amounted to nothing in college, he might have toughed 68 spirit august 2013 it out. But the circus offered an escape from the disorientation SMU stirred in him; it gave him a purpose. In bailing, Jesse wasn’t running away to join the circus, he was running home to it. Now he’ll have to pull off the same tricks his forebears did. Despite its robust past, the circus has repeatedly had to evolve to avoid extinction. Although today’s audiences are harder to come by, the circus arts have become popular among kids. More than 350 instructional youth circuses operate in America, a quarter of them having emerged in the past 10 years. “The challenge for Jesse’s generation,” says author and circus historian Janet M. Davis, “is to bring all of these young people into the broader circus fold.” That’s his task, town by town, wherever roads will reach: to make others feel his passion and make the same investment in traditions—even the everyday ones. “What’s he doing?” Jesse’s father, James, says, sitting up in the RV he and Cristine share on the road. It’s late Saturday afternoon, and crowded around him are his wife, the children, and a few extended family members: James’ ex-sister-inlaw Wendy, who serves as the circus treasurer, and Niche, a lion tamer whom Jesse calls his best friend. Jesse looks out the window, following his dad’s gaze. There’s a small break in the rain, and the camels have been let loose to graze on the grass next to the football field parking lot. But one of the wranglers isn’t paying attention and has wandered too close to the animal’s backside. Jesse knows what’ll happen next. “Oh, just kick him!” he yells. The camel halfheartedly obliges, but only after the wrangler jumps out of the way.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spirit Magazine - August 2013

Spirit Magazine - August 2013
Contents
Gary’s Greeting
Gary’s Greeting en Español
Star of the Month
Freedom Story
From the Editor
Your Words
Your Pictures
Media Center
Eat Drink Sleep
The Numbers
Wise Guide
Business
The Greatest Show on Turf
Flipped Out
Your Adventure In Grand Rapids
Life Adventure In Grand Rapids
Calendar
Fun!
Spotlight
Community Outreach
Route Map
Rapid Rewards Partners
Flight Service
The “If” List

Spirit Magazine - August 2013