When I first had the notion of sharing some of our family stories, I hesitated. Who would want to read about someone else's family? After all we were neither rich nor famous. Contributing nothing much of importance to world history. Other than the eccentric aunt and odd uncle here and there what could I offer a reader? So I set the idea aside for a time. One day a few months later as I talked with some friends and we regaled each other with silly stories of our families and friends I mentioned my idea of a book of family stories and how I had put it aside. As I explained my reasoning for my decision the out cry from my friends was instantaneous. They explained to me that there were enough stories about famous people and what is needed are more stories about every day people. So I put away my misgivings about the book idea and began to write and collect pictures. Here are a few short stories; I hope you enjoy them and the artwork.*A brief history and about the author.Although not all the stories in this book are about our involvement in the entertainment industry, a few are. So I've included a brief family history which I hope will be of some use to the reader.Some of the members of my family have been involved in the entertainment industry dating as far back as the 1920s. It started with my grandfather who ran away to join the circus. He performed many jobs with the circus at one point even performing in the high wire act under the name Harry "Elko" Allen. After a few years he left the circus and performed briefly on the vaudeville circuit before returning to circuses and in later years carnivals, as a ride owner, Jip joint operator, cookhouse operator and eventually front man or booking agent. During this time he married and fathered seven children, who then spent several years on the circus and carnival circuit. As they grew older and had children of their own some drifted away from the business, others like my mother took their children along for a few years on the circuit. As a child I spent the better part of 12 years with carnies and often tell my friends I learned to ride an elephant before I learned to ride a bike and that I and my sisters were the crash test dummies for the children's rides each spring. In later years I attended college majoring in art and worked several different jobs eventually landing a position at an arena along with a few of my other family members, where we had many interesting adventures, until I retired. I remain active in the local art scene and show my artwork at arranged events.