Monona, WI – On Thursdays, our camp is like a ghost town. Not only is it usually our one day off each week, but it’s payday. After settling up any debts, albeit money or cigarettes, the spending begins. First it’s off to the laundry mat and then Wal-Mart, for groceries and provisions. Following the errands, it’s back to camp, where the dedicated drunks among us ride their bicycles to the liquor store. Steaks are grilled. Eventually, almost everyone heads to the bar, where they stay until it closes or the money runs dry.
This week, payday was especially sweet.… Continue Reading Tag Archives: Carnies
Payday and Downtime Don’t Mix
Monona, WI – On Thursdays, our camp is like a ghost town. Not only is it usually our one day off each week, but it’s payday. After settling up any debts, albeit money or cigarettes, the spending begins. First it’s off to the laundry mat and then Wal-Mart, for groceries and provisions. Following the errands, it’s back to camp, where the dedicated drunks among us ride their bicycles to the liquor store. Steaks are grilled. Eventually, almost everyone heads to the bar, where they stay until it closes or the money runs dry.
This week, payday was especially sweet.… Continue Reading Running the Ride
Waiting impatiently outside the entrance to The Hamptons – a six-car carousel that seats 25 – are about four dozen children between 30- and 46-inches tall. Too young for single-file lines, they instead vie for my attention by waving ride tickets clutched in their tiny fists. The clamor verges on chaos. I motion them to step back so I can open the gate. Once it’s unclasped, they pour in, running for the motorcycles, of which there are only two. A crossed-eyed kid with a mullet doesn’t make it in time and begins screaming. His sisters and I lead him… Continue Reading Blood, Sweat and Beatles
Set-up day begins at 7 a.m., when the boss, Corina, raps on our doors, telling us to come get our draw. The prospect of going the day without cigarette or beer money is enough to spring even the most hungover from their bunks. I’m naturally an early riser. By seven, I’ve already showered and gone for coffee. When Corina rounds the corner to find me sitting on my steps reading a book, she looks at me like I’m some sort of weirdo, a stranger in a strange land. Yesterday, before set-up began, I had to talk to Corina, to ask… Continue Reading Truth and Consequences in Carnieville
Unless a Wenzlow says it, it isn’t true.
That’s the mantra around here, meaning never take anyone at their word unless it’s one of the three Wenzlow daughters who run the show. This hard lesson was learned yesterday when a rumor spread through our ‘hood that we had the entire day off. I even wrote yesterday about having the day off. And for most of the day this was the case.
The morning began as usual, with showers, coffee, everyone sitting outside their bunker smoking cigarettes, talking shop and waiting for their $20 draw. The usual suspects bartered goods… Continue Reading My First Days as a Carnie
Waukesha, WI – Being a Carnie is pretty much what you’d expect it to be: lots of drinking, stories and hard work. My stint began Sunday, in Rosholt, on the final day of the carnival there. Tear down began a 5 p.m. For the next six hours, roughly 20 people broke down just as many rides, loaded them on or fastened them to the trucks. After, almost everyone got drunk, listened to music, cooked food and showered until eventually falling to sleep.
The next morning we tore down camp and hit the road for a four-hour drive to Waukesha,… Continue Reading Joining the Carnival
Tomorrow The Feral Scribe begins an interesting new leg of the this summer 2010 adventure: as a carnie.
That’s right, for the next several weeks I’m traveling around the Midwest with a carnival. I found an ad on Craiglist and within a day I get a call. The lady tells me she needs me up in Rosholt, WI, by midday Sunday. She became really excited upon learning I have a valid driver’s license, adding that driver’s earn more.
So that’s that. I’m running off to join the carnival for a few weeks, after which time I’ll head south, toward… Continue Reading 
The Comings and Goings of Carnies