Yo-Yo Trauma

Although a mild tragedy, I feel a certain sense of pride in having broken my first yo-yo string. I bought my Duncan Butterfly at a gift shop at Grand Central Station in Manhattan eight months ago; intending to give it as a gift, but then not giving it. How horrible is that? I guess I deserved to have it malfunction this way. It has been fraying over the last few weeks so I have only been "waiting for the hammer to fall." I was backstage at my show here in A'dam and had successfully performed an "around the world" trick in front of some of the female dancers. Their "oohs" and "aahs" enticed me to repeat the trick, and as soon as I thrust the device out full length, it flew beyond it's point of return and rolled down the hallway. The same mouths that praised my skill only moments earlier, were now laughing in derision. I was a broken man.

Yes. I yo. It relaxes me. I'm not as good as Mr. Smothers, but it's a good feeling; sort of a Zen thing to have this perpetual motion going on.. It's cool, so don't knock it!

So, the day after the incident, I thought that perhaps there might be a shop in this strange city that sells yo-yo strings. Fat chance, eh? I found one only A BLOCK FROM MY HOUSE! Isn't that incredible? It was a shop I found on the internet that sells supplies for street performers: battons, mime makeup, fire breathing fluid... The lady working there pulled out bags of many colored strings, each costing only a euro-fifty for a packet of six! I was elated, but tried not to show it. I bought a packet, attached a new string to my device and tried it out. Magic! I left the shop saying thankyou and goodbye. The shop owner said to me on my way out, "good luck with your purchase." I thought her comment lent gravity to the real importance of having a properly working yo-yo, and that, unlike many others that don't understand the stability and calm that a yo-yo can bring to one's demeanor, she understood and effectively blessed me, as she would a fellow member of the homeless-eurotrash-street-performer-brotherhood.