Part 4. Listen and Relax.
Keywords. systems analysts, variety entertainer, clown college.
Vocabulary. security, juggle, unicycle, gig, literally, have a ball, rat race, ringmaster, emcee.
Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey. Greatest Show on Earth.
You're going to hear a conversation between radio host Robert Siegel and Mike, listen and enjoy.
This is Talk of the Nation. I'm Robert Siegel, We're at 800-989-8255. That's 800-989-Talk.
And on the line with us now from Rockford, Illinois, is Mike Hiteman. Mike Hiteman. Robert. How are you? Fabulous, thanks for asking.
Can you tell me a little bit about first your past as a securities-was it as a securities analyst or a systems analyst?
A system analyst. What'd you do, What did you do with that?
I was a computer operations technician and a network telecommunications analyst for a major retailer through their catalog division.
Until what? Until...I was...I had to make a decision in my life about what I was happiest doing,
Robert. And while I was a computer technician and a telecommunications analyst, I was also a part-time variety entertainer.
I enjoy juggling and uni-cycling and that type of thing as a hobby.
Which later kind of grew into kind of a part-time gig for me, where I, you know, was doing shows on a local level as well as doing this computer job on the side.
If you're familiar with computer-type jobs, most of those shifts are three day a week jobs, so three days a week I'd be the computer guy, and four days a week I was juggling and uni-cycling my way around town.
You were literally juggling and then, two jobs. Yeah, indeed. And?
I made a decision at what...I had to determine what I was happiest doing, Robert, and I decided that I was most definitely happiest
when I was in front of an audience doing my skills and just feeding on the response from them, the applause after the show, people coming up and telling me how much they enjoyed my performances,
and I decided if I could do that every day of my life, that would be indeed the most happiest thing for me.
So I left the computer world and applied for a spot with Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey clown college down in Vitus, Florida.
I was accepted to clown college and spent my time during that eight-week program down there training with the Greatest Show on Earth and ultimately landed a contract performing with the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus on this season's tour.
You ran away and enjoyed the circus. Indeed, I did. Still with it now? How many years? This is my first year on tour. Mm hmmm. And I'm having a ball.
And there are no moments when you wonder what you would do in this clown rat race really gets to you, and you've...
Sure. I'm always thinking towards the future.
There is always life after Ringling, and I'm looking to be performing forever anyplace I can... I can get a gig, either with clown character, or... I'm also an assistant ringmaster here in the show.
So an announcing job as emcee or performing onstage my own variety act or clowning around.
I'll continue to do it, I won't go back to the corporate America.
Mike, thanks for talking with us. How, by the way, would we recognize you if we saw you at the circus.
I'm a captain's character, Captain Mike.
I describe my character as a healthy mix of the Skipper from Gilligan's Island, Popeye, the sailor man and Captain Kangaroo.
Unmistakable, I would think. Thank you very much for talking with us. Thanks for having me, Robert.