About My Bandwagon Ad: Thank you, Raffaele DeRitis ...

Because they granted me interviews for, or contributed in some significant way to, my new book Fall of the Big Top (and, believe me, many people did not), I took out an ad in the Nov-Dec. issue of Bandwagon to thank them. Unfortunately (I should have requested an advance proof for review), a number of errors were made between final copy sent and what actually appears in the magazine, just out. Worst of all, Raffaele DeRitis,(whose name I am guilty of misspelling in my own book), here in Bandwagon ends up without a last name at all!

What irony: On this occasion I went out of my way to be sure everybody's name was spelled correctly. I examined my ad copy before it was sent to Bandwagon maybe a dozen times. Still, fate seems to vex me. (Spell checkers have been known to crash when I come near a keyboard.) Even as I type this out, I fear making some error somewhere, somehow.

Paul Pugh, whose name was in the ad, does not appear in the Bandwagon text. Neither does David Rawls or Slava Troyan. Also missing, and this was my fault, is the name of Dale Longmire. Dale, sorry about that, and thanks for such a great interview.

The ad lists an "Alex Campbell." There is no such person. My own name gets misspelled; well, it's healthy to know how others feel when my spell checker and I fail them, and spelling my name correctly takes rare perseverance, best executed with an intermission mid-way.

With all due respect to editor Fred Pfening, who does such a marvelous job (this latest issue looks very interesting), I point out these errors because the least I can do is properly thank my interviewees.

Raffaele, e-mailing in from Italy late in the game, reached out to me, offering to share his experiences as director of the critically cheered Barnum's Kaleidoscape (may I never have to spell that one again). And he shared much more information than I was able to include in the book. His full name deserves to be listed.

So, thank you RAFFAELE DERITIS.

Here is the final ad copy sent to Bandwagon:

For treasured Fall of the Big Top interviews with ...

Michel Barette, Bunni Bartok, Paul Binder, Barbara Byrd, Alex Chimal, Michael
Christensen, Norma Cristiani, Raffaele DeRitis, Ken Dodd, Calvin DuPre, Hank Ernest, Tito Gaona, Tommy Hanneford, Geoff Hoyle, James Judkins, Sherwood Kaiser, Andrey Kovgar, Chris Lashua, *, Robert Mitchell, Bob Moore, Picasso, Jr., John Pugh, Paul Pugh, Larry Pisoni, David Rawls, James Royal, Svetlana Shamsheeva, William Taggart, Slava Troyan, Vallery, Sylvia Zerbini.

Warmest Thanks, Spangeland!
David Lewis Hammarstrom

*My error; Dale Longmire's name should have been here.

Fred Pfening Responds:

Dave:
I am nonplused with a very red face. I don't know how your text got goofed up. I will run it, corrected, in the J-F issue if you wish.
I am really sorry.
Fred

Thanks much, Fred. You & I should go into vaudeville. I only post this because, having already, for example, misspelled Raffaele's name in my book (MY ERROR), I have to wonder how frustrated and irked he might naturally feel to see only his first name in the ad. I am looking forward to reading your story about circus in the 1870s. I am looking forward never having to spell Barnum's K................ again.