I write for Ezine Articles

These articles that you see in this blog are G rated. I write articles for Ezine Articles and they are always putting my articles in their problem article file. It kind of stinks but it is still working for me. I just wanted everyone reading them to know that I am not that friendly like the edited versions are portraying me. I would much rather get with-it, shall we say, and include a much more straight -up approach.
I was told along time ago that when a person writes a story they are supposed to tell it just like would tell someone in person. I guess the way I talk to people is inappropriate or something. Luckily I haven't let Ezines consistent nature of throwing my articles in as problems affect my confidence in any way. I still crack on individuals or groups just like I always have.
My articles have been listed as, slanderous, libel, adult, graphical, and negligent to human nature. I have edited everyone of those and they did all get published. I do, however, have the original dialogue saved on my computer if any one wants those versions to compare to the edited published versions. You wouldn't believe all the content that was taken off of some just to get published.
In no way does this mean that I still don't enjoyed writing for Ezine as they have helped get people to click in to my main site uscarnys.com. They have been of complete assistance in aiding the discovery of my new web site and I am grateful for their sensitive and caring asses.

Ohio Fairs Are Very Well Governed

The state of Ohio has an excellent vending opportunity for anyone directly involved in the amusement industry. Their government handles a whole bunch in that state. If a person where to go to the Ohio Department of Agriculture they would find every county fair in Ohio listed in that web site.
In that listing you will find the web site and address and correct contact information for every county fair in Ohio. They have all the state sanctioned fairs as well as all the independent fairs listed either alphabetically or chronologically, you can choose which way you want them displayed. They also have the most known festivals in the state listed with their contact information as well. It is truly an awesome resource for any vendor. One of the very best in the nation.
You can search the site a little further and you will find their laws on carnival rides, food concessions, games, and most other types of products that you may want to book at any of their states fairs and festivals. For the most part these laws only specifically apply for the state sanctioned county fairs.
All the state sanctioned county fairs will have official Ohio Department of Agriculture Inspectors at each of them. They are always there the day before opening and the day of opening. Some of these fairs the inspectors are their every single day. They are there to inspect your concession and give you proper licensing. These licenses cost money, but too much. For games it is around $75 a game and the license is good all year.
The ones where an inspector is their every day are the better fairs and Ohio wants to keep them that way. These inspectors will be walking around every day trying to catch people doing less than desired practices. They will fine your company for any wrong doing. These fines are not cheap either, so don't get one.
I work in the games and have booked concessions with Ohio fairs before. One year I booked 7 different county fairs in Ohio. Each of them was with the state sanctioned type fairs. I bought the license for $65 that year which was 2006. Because it was my first year booking in Ohio and I wasn't able to get into the better fairs. Had I stayed booking the state I would have been able to get in the very best events eventually.
I noticed that the state was putting several rules changes over the most recent years that greatly affect how I operate my game. The state was taking steps away in prize progression. No longer were you able to trade multiple times before giving out the biggest prize. I work build up style games all year and a good build up will have at least a dozen wins needed to get the biggest prize.
The inspectors told me that year that they were going to go down from four that year to three the next. I asked why and was told that it was because the people working build ups in the state were getting complaints and tricking people too much. I have worked beside these types on many occasions and realize that some people just get more complaints than others. One of the reasons I go to Ohio and states that have strict guidelines is so that I don't have as much competition. The rules scare people off, especially when they know that they are more prone to having problems with the customers.
I do have a idea for the state of Ohio on how to properly license the fair games concessions. It would allow them to bring back the build ups with multiple steps. What they do is license each game individually by having the owner sign for the license. The owner of the concession is now legally responsible for what goes on inside the game. The owner is the one who has to pay the fines and could actually get charged with breaking a law.
Why should that be? In every regular job in society the employee is held responsible for more of the illegal transactions. Why not have the agents working the games bare some of these ramifications seeing as how they are the ones taking in the money physically from the players. They are the ones committing theft by deception. They are the ones who break the laws. I should be saying we, but am not, because I am pleading the 5th.
What the state of Ohio should do is inspect the agent working the game. Make them buy their own yearly license to work a game for a set fee. Make them buy a license for every type of game they want to work. Make them present proper identification to purchase the license while under the condition that the state checks all participants through the State of Ohio for any wants and warrants. Now make them solely responsible for any wrong doing in the game.
This would immediately eliminate the carnival workers that are running from the law for any reason. This would make the agents in the state a way more responsible lot. Not to mention that the inspectors are already on hand and monitoring the fairs anyway. And most of all, the Sate of Ohio Department of Agriculture would make a ton of extra cash. They would have to hire a security company to escort their inspectors from the lot with all that extra loot.
Now they could actually cancel out quite a few rules that are being implemented. These regulations that are actually driving good carnival people away simply because it isn't financially to their best interest. They are not coming to Ohio because the basket has to be a certain angle, they only allow 3 or 4 step build ups, the rim has to be so big, the duck pond has to have a mirror on the bottom, and the many others that simply aren't productive financially for the vendors at hand.
Despite all these regulations it is still a good state to do business in and mainly because of the involvement of the State of Ohio. The State of Ohio may have never had this philosophy or theory thrown at them. All I know is I would do a few more fairs there if it weren't for the rules that were put into effect. I still venture there for fairs that I know are productive financially like The Ohio State Fair, The IX Center, Canfeild, and some more.
I created the web site http://uscarnys.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Staffen

Drug Addicted Carnies Need Rehab Resources Too

In my chosen profession known as the carnival to everyone there is quite a few drug addicts. It's just the way it is mainly because most carnies receive some amount of pay everyday no matter what they do. If you work rides and food and other salaried positions you are given a draw everyday. If someone works games, known as agents, they generally get paid commission based on what they bring in. In any event you get money at the end of the night right after the carnival closes for the day. That night you will see plenty of activity around the bunkhouses where all the help sleeps. Some just don't tend to sleep at night until they have no money left which is usually more towards morning. On a big night the people who work the games general have more money as they usually get paid their entire commission nightly. The people that work salary jobs have a payday where they receive what they did not get in draws through the week. Either way when the addicts have a bunch of cash they will be up normally until daybreak. Quite a few people in our business compare these addicts to vampires. Whenever the carnival is near a neighborhood that has a multitude of drug dealers it is real easy for the addicts to get their dose of what they like. Some even get fronts. For those that don't know, a front is credit. A large majority of carnies who get fronts are the agents. The reason an agent can get a front is because he generally takes some of the money, as he receives it from the customers, as the day progresses. He will then take that money to the local dealer and ask for a little extra with the story that he still gets paid that night. Obviously some towns have better fairs than others. Sometimes the dealers from that town makes a ton of money off of these carnies. Matter of fact they have made so much in the past that some of them actually followed the show to the next town. Some of these dealers have actually wound up joining the carnival because of that one time burst of income. I have heard that people that do cocaine, a.k.a. crack, are often chasing the original feeling that they experienced from their first time. I have been told that after that original high, or feeling, they never actually experience it again quite the same way. Most of the dealers that sell crack generally make money, no matter how good the fair or festival is, because of the individuals that are still chasing that original feeling. The dealer that follows the fair to sell is also chasing, but he is chasing that original pile of cash. Many people don't realize every show that plays big fairs has a drug policy. As a matter of fact they even have random drug tests. Mainly for insurance purposes as it lowers their ride and midway insurance that they conduct some testing. They sometimes will use these tests when someone has done something recently, that makes them undesirable. Then they give that person a test, that they most likely will fail, as a method of firing the individual at hand. Most shows don't worry so much if an agent is on hard drugs because he isn't operating rides. They are generally very concerned when they get word of a ride personnel on some form of illegal substance. Quite a few larger shows will carry a school for the kids that travels with the show. The show hires a teacher and the teacher travels with the show giving classes to school age children whom parents travel with the show. There are currently no types of rehabilitative programs traveling with the shows. The current rehab consists of prodding the participants in an effort to embarrass and alert them of their problem. This isn't working as well as an education would I don't believe. With a good program carnivals could possibly keep these narcotics from making their way into show peoples mouths, noses, and veins. I personally know several people in my business that have been on hard drugs. These people found ways to quit. Some have went to treatment centers in the off season and others found it in themselves to quit. Every one of them will talk about when they quit and will include what positives quitting has brought. Most of the programs that help people quit hard drugs are ran by former abusers. Maybe that is what the large carnivals should do. Get the guys and gals that they know are rehabilitated to spend some time with the current users every week. I created the web site http://uscarnys.com/Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Staffen

Carnival Games Policies Are Now For The Weak Minded

The rules are changing and I don't really know why. The games are quickly becoming a clerk position and I don't know why. Seems as though they want everybody working the games to play it just like the sign says and I don't know why. Somebody please tell me soon. It doesn't matter to me though, I just want to know. There was a saying a long time ago that people still use today, to endure...to adapt...and this too shall pass. That saying is how I approach the ever changing carnival game regulations. Even though I have broke in working games as strong as I could, I haven't lost a step with each regulation implemented by fair commissions and Carnival show owners alike. I do know quite a few of my peers that have been greatly affected. In my field of study, build-up oriented games, I began working what is widely known as a collection. The collection is when you get a player to play and then pay. Basically the collection has been omitted from the regular running of all the shows that are playing the most major fairs and festivals. There have been major set backs at the choice games too. One way of getting money then is now not allowed now because the shows are allegedly making it a better environment for the patrons of these said events. These people making these drastic rules changes have never worked the games for sure. The guy that spends the most money usually went to fair looking for the carny with the biggest bite. Those players tend to realize if they get beat for enough money they will get a prize. I have noticed quite a few emails from people telling me I won the lottery, someone died and they want me to help them with all the money the person left and they will pay me a large sum, or someone may just want me to run great sums through my bank account for great riches in return, and other internet scams as well. They are all identity theft emails. I don't bite at all. I even have fun with these people telling them things like my name is Gunnar Nemecek and I am from Steal, ID. Get it. One thing I have noticed is that, for the most part, these emails come directly from the United Kingdom. They have a Nigerian flavor many times, as well, but are still directly from the UK. This tells me that the UK allows this type of scam. This also tells me that they may allow these scams because the people of the UKs' general philosophy is that if you fall for it you should learn from it. That they also feel you should be smarter and that it should teach you a lesson. In America we don't share that philosophy as a whole. We believe that these characters should be nipped at the bud. In return Americans are the easiest target for these internet scammers because they are so protected by all of these laws. They have become weak minded to the point that actually believe that there is no way that's a scam because it's against the law. They can't get away with it. Why? Because they are coddled by American law. This brings me back to carnival games. I know a guy in Lafayette Georgia who was ripped off for all of his money, then his jewelry, and then his car in a carnival game back in the 60's. He will tell you that this carny fleeced him good. He will also tell you how it changed his entire outlook on life. This guy now owns a store, nice home, his wifes' successful catering business, a large bank account I am assuming, and is always sporting very expensive jewelry. This guy will tell you that if it weren't for being ripped off he wouldn't have what he has today. It made him stronger and smarter and, most of all, it taught him how to approach financial matters for the rest of his life. This is a true story and the guy owns a little store heading north on 27 out of Lafayette, Georgia, on the right, if you verify the authenticity of this story. This is really what carnival games did for people when we carnies were allowed to rip off the public. Being flim-flammed made the person smarter and way more on the guard for every venture in the future. You will even hear former customers say to each other things to the effect that that sales pitch sounds just like that carny at the fair. They may be looking at cell phone plans or car tires or really anything in every day life. The bottom line is that it is only the small time players that actually complain about the games. Complaints are only a small factor for the rules changes though. The larger spenders don't generally complain. Some are just too embarrassed to admit they were beaten out of that much by a carny or anybody for that matter. But for the most part, and I am speaking from a whole bunch of experience, they want to hear your lines. If someone took a poll of all adults leading lives outside the carnival, and asked them, yes or no, do you think that carnival games are rip-offs. The general answer would definitely be yes. I would figure that nearly everyone who has ever played carnival games would say yes, maybe 99.9%. So when they play it's kind of like those people that jump into the barrel of snakes, except now all the snakes are not poisonous. They continue to play and the people have no idea, generally, that there are all these rules changes making them less apt to get beat out of their money. Some people argue that the rules changes were for bettering the image of carnies. That theory is flat bull. These people working the carnivals have to gain a better overall look, which is why their is a dress code. Whether or not a person gets beat for large cash and jewelry has so very little impact on the overall image of carnies. The people just don't realize, Hey! I didn't get beat for $60 in any game this year, any impact at all in the rules changes. They still call the games rip-offs. I hopscotch from show to show almost every year. I see all types of game policies. When I first dropped in on a show called Pugh, owned by Jeff Pugh, they didn't have any real carnies working their games. As a matter of fact their ad in a business magazine, at the time, they stated that they had the most stringent game policy in America. The show went under and the route was taken over Jeff Pughs' brother-in-law. Since I first walked on that midway and showed that carnies could rip off the public, while at the same time, not being a menace off the lot, they now have real carnies in most of their games. The shows' name changed to Mid America, owned by North American Midways in care of Danny Houston, but the general game policy changed to go on ahead and get em', just don't get a complaint. Their route continues to be one of the best in the country for the games. But they did transform from one philosophy to nearly the entire opposite philosophy, with no impact in proceeds or attendance at their fairs and festivals. I created the web site http://uscarnys.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Staffen

The Many Ways Of Getting Stuffed Animals In A Pinch

Concessionaires sometimes have limited space to haul their stuffed animals around. I am one of them. Because of this they often run out of supply during an event and have to get more. It is a tough task sometimes. I have found myself driving 600 miles round trip to and from a supply house on more than one occasion. A whole bunch of times their just isn't enough time to do this drive. On these occasions a person has to find other alternative ways to get stock for their games. One of the main ways is to go to another vendor and try to purchase teddy bears or whatever else they need from them. Many times this is a really hard task, after all the other vendor is also your competition. They sometimes don't want to help you simply because it costs them money every time they do this. You almost have to be friends for them to sell you, the competition, an oppurtunity to take money off the same midway they are running a business on. Another option is to drive to another carnival set up near your festival to get your supply. These concessionaires are way more apt to sell you stuffed animals directly out of their truck. If they are playing a festival that isn't really kicking then they are even more apt to sell you some. They want the cash flow at that point. So it does help to go to the festival nearest you that you know isn't too hot of a commodity. You can also go to a dollar type store and get animals. Often times you be able to strike a special deal with the manager providing they are on duty when you show up offering this proposition. They like it when you aren't discussing the purchase of just one stuffed toy. You are, after all, needing to supply more than one game and will need several. Sometimes I have actually needed every teddy bear in the store. If the manager isn't on duty you will be paying a much larger price for this escapade than you ever wanted to. But you have to have the product or you won't make nothing at all when your supply totally runs out. I have seen this happen to, not only me, but several other small time vendors. Of course there are always second hand shops, goodwill stores, salvation armys, and other places like this as a last alternative. I have had to, or actually wanted to, buy from these places. Whenever I buy from these places I will always get a deal on the whole. I will ask what they want for all these bears. Most of the time these places get the bears donated and will darn near give them to you. Several look all to obviously used. I usually separate them and give them away or even take them back to the second hand shop I bought them from. One time in Alabama I was doing a festival basically totally supplied with these types of prizes. Towards the end of the fest I was down to the last of these second hand items. Of course you don't really want the customers to realize they are used. People aren't stupid like some carnies like to think. In this scenario the ones I had left were starting to look pretty pathetic. Me and my friend were packing up and a young couple walked up. The lady plays and wins and picks a rabbit. It looks like the play is over with this boy friend and girl friend so we resume packing up. The guy says to me and my partner in crime, "Hey! Why you guys packing up? Wonder if my girl wants a bigger Goodwill rabbit?". I am laughing right now at this young comedians smart remark. When you are about out of material you can call a supplier and have the bears stuff you need shipped over night. Thus paying a large over night shipping fee. This fee is usually so strong that it will be over double the normal price per animal. This isn't a wise decision and I have made this decision before. Ouch! That smarts real bad. Not to mention it hurts the net a whole bunch. I wouldn't advise this strategy unless you knew you were going to hit real big. It would be way handier to actually have the storage space to have all the product you need all the time. But with the price of gas these days you don't want to haul an extra vehicle or trailer for the few times that you get in these particular binds. Even before the gas prices went up it was not an easy task unless you had the route that required the extra equipment necessary. It is way better if you have a glossary of all the stock companies in the area you are in, and their hours of operation. Just in case your spot hits larger than your regular allowable amount of space for prizes. That is the best alternative in these tight spots. They are the cheapest way of reproducing your games and novelty stands. That's why they are the same places you call and order from in the first place. I created the web site http://uscarnys.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Staffen

My First 5 Weeks Working Games

I have been in the carnival industry since I was 26. Before that I worked three seasons in the side show independent concessions field. So I have quite a bit of experience traveling around this great nation. I mostly stay east of the Mississippi. I did break into the games in Texas though. My first spot in the games was at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. I had just left the Oklahoma State Fair after working a one man beer stand in an 8X12 plywood shack. My first jump on my own was from Oklahoma City in Oklahoma County in Oklahoma State (Had to throw that in their) on my way to Dallas. I worked out a deal with a guy, who was at the motel where I was staying for the fair. He didn't work the carnival or at the fair in any capacity, but he coincidentally was headed for Dallas on Wednesday, three days after the Oklahoma State fair was over. The deal was I split the fuel with him and that was a little better than paying bus fare. I had him drop me at a motel in Dallas not far from the State Fairgrounds. The next day I went to the lot and had to pay to get in, $7 I might add, which was a whole lot in 1989. I walked all around this very large facility asking for jobs from all the stands, other than the rides or the games. The only job that I could get was washing cars for a dealership, and it wasn't everyday. My money was going to get funny if I didn't get some kind of permanent employment. I had to ask the games people. I did and was hired in my first game ever on October 3, 1989. I didn't want to work the games because my whole life, of 26 years plus, I had been conditioned that all games were rip-offs. I had to do something though. I worked a Birthday game, one in which a person puts their money on a color in hopes it was the one the ball rolled in, for two days. I realized that I was only getting $35 on the weekdays and $50 on the weekends. That wasn't enough. I was spending $38 a day for a cab to and from the fair and a motel. I told my boss and he put me in a bushel basket for a percentage. I did pretty good there. I made more money in those 19 days than any three week period of my life. I did know that Dallas was one of the better fairs in the country and still wasn't into the games yet, by choice. Now as the carnival goes the spot was over and I had already decided to go all the way to Charleston, South Carolina for the fair there. I worked out a deal again for a ride where I would pay my share of a five way split on the gas. I was riding with two guys that weren't real carnies by any means and two veteran carnies. One of the carnies talked to himself the whole way to Charleston, over 900 miles. Lucky for me I had worked with the mentally ill as a resident coordinator three years prior. I had some experience with mentally unstable people. The other carny told me several times that he would be alright, stating that he is o.k. once he's behind the counter (in the game). We get to Charleston and I grabbed a job selling western wear. After 1 1/2 days of the owners' wife messing with my customers I had had enough. And the same carny fella, that stuck up for the crazy guy, had been telling me that he could hook me up in a game again. he told me I was a "natural" at the games. I worked a game again and the guy I was working for was also kind of shot out. I made good money again and was relatively sold on the games, I guess I was a natural. So I went down the road traveling with this new boss and his group of bonafide bandits. I have been in the game business ever since. It's one of those jobs that is not for the faint of heart. you can't be too scared of meeting people and getting into tight spots traveling around with the shows no matter what your job. I'll be hanging with my relatives or someone else that has taken the more regular path of life, you know a job and a house, and the car get's a flat tire. It is like a major catastrophe. I always end up chuckling, because to me, a flat tire is nothing. We carnies have a saying that fits the flat tire episode to a tee, "They can slow us down, but they can't stop us". This story is only 5 weeks long in my carnival life and I left out so much. So much is happening all the time that it makes even serious problems seem like just another setback. What is a major dilemma to someone living in every day society is another day at the office to a carny. I created the web site http://uscarnys.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Staffen

Traveling Animal Shows Take Good Care Of Their Business

My first 3 seasons in the carnival industry were spent as an attendant of a side show. I worked The Midget Horse and The Giant Horse and was directly involved with The Giant Pig, The Giant Alligator, and The Giant Steer. It was actually quite enjoyable and very very interesting. One of the main obstacles, shall I say, was the National Humane Society. They have some employees and alleged representatives that have some very differing opinions of the side shows and the regular operation of one. Some like the side shows and some obviously hate them. The ones who hate them and think that it is abusive to animals are the most entertaining by far. Their complaints range from flat out weird to actually somewhat agree-able. But no matter what, they are very entertaining and animated in the opinions. In Xenia, Ohio I was working the Giant Horse stand and had an encounter that I still laugh about today. Heck! I'm actually snickering as I write this article. This lady comes up and introduces herself as a member of the National Humane Society and then states that she can get in free for observation. I knew she was trouble right away. No shame to her game for sure. Needless to say I charged her the 50 cents entry stating the Humane Society didn't own any life time membership to this stand. She payed very much begrudgingly. She then informs me that the horse had no water in the stall with him. She then notes that he didn't have grain either. She was appreciative that the horse had hay and actually complimented me on that. I told her that if she were to visit the 4-H horse barn she would realize that those horses didn't normally have water and grain in their stalls either. She left somewhat unhappy with my rebuttal. A little while later she comes back, and with 50 cents out. I turned down the fee and said that I knew who she was and remembered that she already had paid that day. It doesn't normally matter if they already paid that day but she was a member of the Humane Society and their members do receive special privileges. She goes in, and as she does, I asked if she had been to the 4-H horse barns. She said yes. I then had to prod her for the obvious answer, did you notice that they didn't have any water or grain either. She said yes and immediately started to go off on me. She told me that it was cruelty to animals to have these animals penned up all day for the means of making a buck. She said a few other things as well. That is when I decided to let her have a little more, shall we say, informative information. I asked her if she noticed the scars on the horses behind(there were very visible white marks). She said that she did notice them. I asked her if she noticed that he was a gelding, which he was. She actually looked, as if being an actual equine expert, then said yes very hesitantly. I then told her that the scars were from the horse pullers who had previously owned him. They are from electric prods for making him put a little more effort into pulling for competitive purposes. I then informed her that my boss had purchased this horse from the pullers because he was no longer able to pull enough weight for competitions, and obviously his size. I then said that because he was gelded that he can't reproduce any more offspring. Then I stated that because of the scars on his behind that he could no longer be used in halter-type show classes. I asked her if she owned any animals. She replied three dogs and cat. I then summed up all of this information about the Giant Horse for this fine female representative of the National Humane Society. I told her that if it were not for him being as large as he was, since he couldn't breed or pull or show, that he would probably be in her dogs food right now. Then, of course, I asked her, do you still think this is abuse, as I began to laugh out loud, in her face. She told me we'll see who gets the last laugh as she was walking away hastily. I replied that when it comes to me and her, I would always have the last laugh, because I would laugh until she was plum out of sight. I haven't seen that lady since. The true fact of the matter is that the animals, definitely in this side show owners stands, are very well taken care of. Not even to mention the fact that he is only out for 4 and 1/2 months or so each year. The rest of the year the animals are freely running amok in their pastures or their pens. They also have to get regular veterinary checks to cross the state lines. I mean, come on, do you think a guy or gal making a living off of an animal would actually not take good care of that animal. It is, after all, his or her lively hood. I actually taught my 3 different horses I watched, how to graze themselves throughout the season. I would let them loose and see if they would let me catch them. If they didn't I would chase them until they were caught and then immediately put them back in the show barn, or trailer, as in the midget horses case. A few brief interruptions of their free time, that they knew they had coming, and they had no problem allowing me to walk up and grab whenever I wanted for whatever purpose I wanted. Since I taught all three to graze themselves, I would actually doze off sometimes waiting for them to want to go back to their shows. The horse would actually wake me up to take him in every time I dozed off, without fail. Much less abuse them. A person can tell if an animal is being abused if they take a good look. It isn't hard. And if you ever dealt with animal lovers, you know they will keep someone in check when they do see abuse. If they love dogs the most, every rotten dog owner in their sights hears from them. I was actually told on two occasions that my horse was colicing, by paying customers. Some customers, not knowing the possible harm, will feed the horses candy apples (even though a sign clearly states do not feed or touch) and it causes them to colic. Colic is when a horse has gas. A horse has to walk or run off the gas. Because they don't throw up they have to poop it out. A horse can't do that while tied up in a stall. I had to close my stand, take the horse out of the stand, for all to see for free, and walk him until he pooped. We didn't even abuse them when it obviously cost my boss money. You will find out that a very large portion of the animals traveling around with carnivals are well kept. The ponies in the pony rides, the tigers and lions in the circus type acts, the elephants and lamas and other animals in the petting zoos, and the many other types of animals for the many other types of fair or festival or rodeo exhibits are all well fed, groomed, cleaned up after, and have regular vet check-ups for the purpose of not spreading disease, in order to go across every single state line. They are actually kept up with better than the average animal of their species. Why? Because without them, the owners aren't making the dollar. I created the web site http://uscarnys.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Staffen

A really good SEO

Recently I came accross a SEO that gave me some very good advice on how to clean up my site. I am a complete beginner at web site building I just started building mine on February 1 of this year. This SEO let me have it. Told me my site was unhealthy. I had no ideea why. I had to pay a small price but got some very good info as to what was wrong with several areas of my site. I was then inadvertanly reading an article through Web Pro News about bad SEO tactics and realized that it was the same stuff this SEO was telling me I was doing wrong. It was ironic that I got second opinion backing my SEO's claims. The company my SEO works for is PRO-Webs.net. I will be applying this link in my links on this blog and also my blog at carnys.blogspot.com.

Carnival Space as published by EzineArticles.com

Carnival Real Estate
By Sam Staffen
In the outdoor amusement industry, otherwise known as carnival, there is a whole bunch of real estate being sold all the time. Every fair, committee, and other entities sell the real estate for a wide range of reasons. Nonetheless it is being sold, sold, sold, and in great volume.
A concessionaire new or old to this business often buys real estate that just flat wasn't worth it. On many occasions a concessionaire would not have paid anything for the real estate they received had they had any kind of hindsight. The rent was too high for the net profit to be anything of value.
I have been in this industry for nearly 20 years and have purchased locations for my games that just did not pan out. I have worked for other people that i was unable to get any significant amount of net profit for on several occasions. Some of the worthless occasions have happened a year after that same location at that same exact festival had been successful. Go figure.
Many times when a person does good at a fair they brag about it. They tell everyone how good spot X or Z was. The next thing you know everyone knows about this jam-up spot. Many times the information of this jam-up festival doesn't come back to haunt the poor fella that went back looking for the same rewards. But many times it does.
One of the main reasons is that real estate has to be sold. I have figured out sure fire ways of knowing if a fair or festival will hold out the following year through many trials and many more errors. My ways of knowing take the word of mouth factor right out of the picture. My ways of telling totally eliminate the vast real estate sales going on at every event.
Let's start by factoring in how it came about that you even booked this event to start with. Was it a carnival or the committee that you booked or the person you were working for booked with? If it is a carnival it factors in quite differently than a committee.
The committees are harder to figure out because they often times don't really know the business as it is a one time a year position for them. Most committees handle just that one fair and just are not as prone to know why your location hit or did not and can some time screw everything up the following year by placing a new stand or walkway that totally kills you location unknowingly.
Carnivals on the other hand are way better to know what can and probably will happen the following year. They know every move. But will this particular carnival even make those moves? Some carnivals only book one of a kind games while others book the same concessionaires all year. These are the ideal shows for knowing you will do well the following year because they generally won't have many more or too many repeat concessions the following year.
There are many more of the shows that will be more than willing to book the many EXTRA VENDORS THAT WILL BE CALLING because word is out that everybody hit at that festival the year before. I have seen spots, like the Mardi Gras in Lafayette, Louisiana, quadruple the number of games from one year to the next. Or maybe quadruple the food like a committee will from time to time. Or simply put 14 of the same item in their real estate sales pocket.
There is a way to know that even when you are on a show that "overbooks" that the spot will still hit the following year. Look around during the good year and see if their is any more space available to rent. If there isn't much more room to put too much more equipment in then chances are the spot will be just as good the following year based on the theory that there is no more space to sell real estate.
Take for instance the IX Center in Brookfeild, Ohio. I have done that fair when it was at it's capacity and done reasonably well. I have never made enough to write home about but it remains consistent because the building doesn't get any bigger so the carnival simply doesn't have any extra space to rent if they wanted to. That is a bad example in this nature in that the shows that usually get the IX don't usually overbook when given the opportunity anyway.
my name is Sam and I created the web site uscarnys.com/
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An Article I wrote for EzineArticles.com

How I Got Introduced To The Amusement BusinessBy
Sam Staffen

I was a 15 year old kid who had went to the Kalamazoo County Fair with my mom and step-dad. My mom and step-dad had pony teams that they showed at the fair. We had to be there all week because the ponies had stalls for all fair patrons to see them in. I was basically there to shovel the horse manure keeping the stalls cleaned and the ponies fed and watered. Someone may argue that I was there because I had to be there on the account that the family was there. But my three sisters were not required to be there. So I was there with nothing to do.
I had been to these fairs in this capacity for a few years seeing as how my home county fair was something that we showed animals of all kinds almost every year. We would sometimes camp at the fairs all week long. With all of this fair experience I knew that around 10 p.m. the regular one night fair patrons would start to leave the fairs. I also knew that in Kalamazoo County Fair that the parking lot was quite the walk from the midway and the grandstand. I also knew that I had six ponies and or three teams at my expense. I also had wagons to hitch the to at my availability. I also knew that I was going to get left at the fair on opening night because my step-dad had to be to work. Now you know why I knew my job was to clean the stalls and feed and water the ponies. After all I was being left unattended at the fair any damn way. Why not be left unattended at home, right? So I have three pony teams a wagon with no supervision and a whole shit load of tired fair patrons that were going to have to walk to the parking lot. Way the hell out there too. And I wanted to make a buck or two.
I hitched the most fair acclimated team up to a wagon. The wagon that had the largest capacity to haul people to the parking lot in. I did that around 9 p.m.. I then took off to the end of the barn they were stalled. At the end of the barn they were stalled in was the main drive from the midway and grandstand to the parking lot. The parking lot was behind the race track where mostly everyone that attended the fair had to park. I started offering rides in the wagon to the patrons cars. I knew from a previous year that I could not charge because the fair board would say something about that. No signs could be displayed asking a price unless a person was willing to pay the fair board a vendors fee and you had to have insurance. Nonetheless, the way I did it and the fact that it was very handy, the people would often offer a tip which I was definitely going to accept. I made some money and I was sure glad I did because my mom left me with $3. Hell I made $3 or more on the first wagon load.
It got so late in the evening that no one would need a ride because everyone had pretty much left. I made my last run around 12:30 at night. I dropped that last batch of fair patrons off and started in going past the track heading back to the barn. I pulled the team to the side of the road , next to the track fence, to stop the team out of the way of the little traffic that was still leaving the fair. No not to give the damn ponies a break or nothing. To count the money. Of course, come on what were you thinking. I was counting the money and I noticed an extremely large horse being walked by a man heading out onto the infield of the track. This horse I seen was definitely not a racehorse. I squinted real hard and sure as heck he was really a large horse. I stopped counting my money and instead headed for the barn to put the team up. I was now in a hurry. You know why, right? To see this horse. Because earlier in the day I walked by the "Big Jim the Giant Horse" show and had noticed it costed 50 cents to see him. Heck! if I hurried I would get to see him up close and personal for free.
I got to the barn, and all I did, was un-hitch the team and walk them into their stalls. With their entire harness on to tie them up. I was courteous enough to give them oats as a treat for a job well done. They were a really good team. I then hurried to the infield of the race track to get a close look at this horse. The horse was billed as being 19 hands and 2600lbs. That's freakin' big you know. I also knew that a normal horse was 14 to 16 hands and up to around 1400lbs. So this freakin' horse was big for sure. By the way a hand is four inches. with a hand being four inches that makes this horse 6'4" at the shoulder. I made it out there in time to see the horse. There was a mexican man walking him. He really wasn't mexican but mexican of descent and actually an american born and raised. This was way before the recent increase in illegal aliens.
The man introduced himself as Joe. What the heck, Joe? He let me pet the horse after I told him that I was the kid that was driving the pony team and what I had done to insure being able to see this big ole' horse for free. I petted him and asked Joe if he was ride-able. Joe said that his brother-in-law had told him that yes he could be ridden. Joe then said that he personally had never been on him though. So, of course, I wanted on. I told Joe I wanted on and he helped me get on this big ole' horse called Big Jim. Believe it or not. You just have to realize the dialogue that I already had with this Joe guy. The horse didn't mind a bit. He didn't mind so much that he went on ahead and started eating the track infield grass again. What the heck? Hell I wanted joe to give me the rope because I knew how to ride a horse with nothing more than a rope linked through the halter. Hell I had been around horses my whole life. Had ridden a horse, myself , before the age of four. I was disappointed he still wanted to eat but asked Joe anyway and Joe wouldn't go for it. Matter of fact he wanted me to get off right after I asked him.
I went all the way back to the show barn with Joe and Jim the Giant Horse talking with Joe the whole way. The show barn was where Jim stayed at night. It was also where he was to be seen for a price. It was basically right on the way back to the barn where our pony teams were. It was just a little out of the way. On the way I explained to Joe that I was going to head back to get the harnesses off the ponies. I also told him that I was taking the fair-goers back to their cars in the parking lot. I also said that I did that for the reason of making tips. He asked if I made that much. I said probably $15 and told him that it was not too cool with the fair board. I also told him my mom didn't want me doing it either and that she wasn't there and wouldn't know anyway. Joe then told me that he needed a break person for the stand because his wife had left the week before to take the kids home and get them in school. I ain't stupid you know. So i asked him if he could let me give him breaks. He said only if my mom would let me. I knew she would and told him so. Then I asked what I would get paid and he said he didn't know how much he would need me and that he paid at the end of each fair. He did tell me I would make at least $80 or more if I was able to give him all the breaks he needed. Maybe more if he thought he could take longer breaks. Longer breaks meant trusting me to not steal any of the money that people would pay me for seeing Big Jim the Giant horse. A deal was struck.
I did the break job. Well it wasn't really a break job because I basically worked the stand the entire time after that other than when I needed to break. Uh, clean our pony stalls. Oh and feed the damn ponies and help my mom hitch them up before the shows. Bit I did work the majority of the hours for sure. At the end of the week Joe paid me $125. I thought that I got beat but understood that he would have worked more had I not been so willing to work. Joe asked for our phone number and said he would call me when I was 18 to work for him on the road. Right! Like I was gonna believe that shit. Later Joe and nice knowing you and it was really a cool job for a kid.
Three days after my high school graduation ceremony my mom answered the phone. It was Joe. What the heck? Really? This guy did call. Three years later? And he wanted me to go to work? He wanted me to get to Rushville, Illinois before the weekend. Apparently some 35 year old guy he had working for him was going to go home to Texas. He also said that I had to have a drivers license, which I did. He then told me I would be running his Little Luke the Midget Horse stand. That didn't matter to me. He then said that his 14 year old son, Joey, would be working with me. What the heck, really? And he stated that we had our own route to do and that we would be on our own. I ain't the scared type that's for sure. I was in. All I could make money at that summer, where I was from, was bailing hay for very cheap wages. Not to mention bailing hay isn't full time. He said that he would pay me $125 a week and that I also had a bunk room in the 5th wheel of the show trailer. Show trailer, I asked? He explained that Little Luke was just 26" tall and that the trailer was actually the stand that people went up in to view Little Luke. He explained that I would share the 5th wheel of the show trailer with Joey his oldest son and that Joey knew everything that had to be done. I didn't care I just wanted to get going to Rushville, Illinois. Never had been to Illinois before. My sister Sheila drove me there and dropped me off.

I created the web site UScarnys.com. USCarnys was first published on the internet on February 4, 2008. Already USCarnys.com boasts probably the best free fairs and festivals listing on the internet, with 48 pages of these events. There are 5 other web pages on this site all dedicated to the carnival industry. Come by and check out this very informative site.
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