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The Circus Festival Is No Place For Benchwarmers

August 2019, we visited the bi-annual AYCO Festival. In moves every time, and this time it was in San Diego. I thought I'd write a straight travel article. This is how it turned out.

Representatives from the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts included (from left) coach Karen Ladd, Gretta Maguire, Mara Sell, coach Adam Woolley, Jonas Sell, Isa Kennedy, Bronyn Mazlo, and parent Shana Kennedy.

WALT MAGUIRE Representatives from the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts included (from left) coach Karen Ladd, Gretta Maguire, Mara Sell, coach Adam Woolley, Jonas Sell, Isa Kennedy, Bronyn Mazlo, and parent Shana Kennedy.

Running Away to the Circus, by Walt Maguire.
Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/4/19 (online) 10/6/19 (print)

There is a weird argument right now that says people in their 20s don't know how to do anything. This is the same argument that's been made since young people were invented
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There is a weird argument right now that says people in their 20s don't know how to do anything, either because their parents pampered them or because computers do it all for them.

This is the same argument that's been made since young people were invented (May 20, 1954) and it's more of a comedy setup than a reality.

As always, it depends who you're talking about, and what exactly your asking them to do. As always, there are young people who get a lot done -- Masters degrees, startups, artisanal soap, rebuilding a transmission -- and young people who are going to age and never succeed at anything until they end up in management or Fox News commentary.

The bigger danger is that they will be goaded into explaining how they do what they're doing until our ears bleed. No one needs more Ted Talks.