Cavorting with the Carminers

New York City is home to a variety of characters, a lot of whom I’ve become quite good friends with. Martial artists, yogis, performers, visual artists, fellow vegetarians – all have been sources of comfort as well as fodder for my stories. None, however, can compare to the diversity and nuttiness exuded by one of the coolest, most skilled groups I’ve met: the Carmine Street Jugglers.

Juggling is amazing because of the diversity of people in terms of culture and career. I’ve met jugglers who are also school administrators, animators, computer geeks, mathematicians, businessmen, scientists, designers, etc. The first night I went out with these guys, I sat at a table with a nomadic delivery boy, an animator, and a depressed clown who used to be in rabbi school. I met someone who was the first woman to win the International Juggling Association's Championship. Her dad is a physicist who plays the piano, her mom is a music journalist who is a stand-up comic, and her real name is Cindy Marvell. I think I’ve found my people.

Where else can I find odd characters such as Fernando, whom I apparently first saw two years ago, in front of the American Museum of Natural History? Déjà vu ensued the moment he introduced himself to me at the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center in downtown NYC, where Carminers hang out every Thursday to toss some balls.

Fernando, circa 2005

It’s incredible to see jugglers in action because they all look so happy while doing it. You can see it in their eyes, how they can shut out the rest of the world while tossing stuff in the air, be it clubs(don’t call them pins), rings or beanbags (my personal favorite as they remind me of Chinese jacks).

I learned to juggle when I was about 11 or 12, although my skill level reached a plateau of three balls for a while. (One of my many New Year resolutions is to make it to four.) There is something very calming about it, and it helps stymie my afternoon migraines somewhat. It improves coordination, and heightens my sense of balance and symmetry. Plus, it just feels so good to learn one trick then move on to the next. Juggling has been proven to increase brain mass as well, which probably explains why a lot of mathematicians do it. As my fellow Carminer Viveca said, juggling is one of those things where we seek to make things more difficult.

Beyond the fancy tricks and the equipment jugglers are among the friendliest people. Most are willing to teach you how to perform that extra trick, or how to add another ball to your cascade. I have, however, encountered people who take it way too seriously. I will never forget the time when a ball rolled towards me, and as I bent over, this person screeched, “I’ll get it, Cathy, I’ll get it!” The polite idiot in me still picked it up and handed it to him, whereby he grabbed it from me without a word, roared “Argh!” and stomped away. This was a very valuable lesson; in some instances, be forewarned:

Never touch a juggler’s balls.