I have not had a typical amount of shows during this summer of 2020, but the ones I've done have been mostly outdoors. This was the case again yesterday when I did a show at an assisted living home in Casco, Maine.  Assisted living is very different from a nursing home. These elderly folks are free to come and go, and they do not suffer from dementia. They just need, well, assistance in living.  This could mean they use walkers, and their homes aren't equipped for that, or they lived alone but wouldn't always remember to take their medications, or similar circumstances.  Country Village is an old farm house across from the village green of quaint little Casco, Maine, and the have a large yard where I did the show.

Yesterday's show was the first entertainment they hosted since Covid-19 came on the scene five months ago, and the people were eager. Their handyman set up a large tent for the audience to have shade, and I worked in the  grass in front of them.  As I've said before, outdoor shows allow for fire juggling, which I can almost never do indoors any more. I did both fire devil sticks and fire diabolo. It felt great and was well received.  There was even a group from, I'm told, a program for disabled adults watching from the nearby park.  Two audiences in one!

Afterwards, I spoke with a couple of the residents- from a safe distance of course.  One was a Christian who was very grateful for the show. She went on to tell me just how loving the staff at Country Village is.  The second lady told me of how she used to show dogs at the Westminister Dog Show many years ago.  She showed me pictures of her dogs like they were pictures of her grandkids. I don't remember the breed, but they were beautiful animals.  She told me how Lena Horne saw the dogs at the show one year and absolutely fell in love with them.  She even showed me an old, yellowing magazine picture of one of her dogs that was featured in a photo shoot in Women's World.  You never know who you'll meet.

With shows just starting to come back, it's a real pleasure to have opportunities like this to do what I love and bless some folks in the community.