Memoirs Eugene Leone

Over the next 11 months we will be sharing the Memoirs That Made Me Who I Am. These are compiled stories written about the life of a former Gallup resident Eugene Leone.

Before his passing, he wrote, “It is with great delight that I share these stories from my heart, which have been inside for many years. My desire is that the reader would be able to go back to a time that was very real and may have been lost through the years.

Chapter Seven The Circus Comes To Town

IIt was a cool and windy morning in Gallup, but then it was almost always windy in Gallup back in the 20’s. My sister, Lois, and I had to walk to school every day, and back home, a distance of one and a half miles. Only when it rained, my mother drove us there in the pickup. My dad used his pick-up only for his work. As we approached the Santa Fe Railroad tracks, we could see that two circus employees were putting up these two large advertising posters. These posters were beautifully done. The poster they were in process of displaying

was of a crouching, growling Asian tiger. He was resplendent in his unique tiger stripes and behind him was a Zebra, no less resplendent in his beautiful black and white stripes and wanting to get the hell away from the tiger. And, the only remaining space was a Circus clown, which was attracting everyone. The performance beginning time was at 2pm, and the cost of admission for students was $2.00.

The clock read 1:30pm, about the time I would need to get there and get a good seat. Back at school, the dominative Franciscan Nun was saying she could not allow me to attend the circus performance, I was beginning to get mad and hollered out “SISTER---why can’t I go to the circus-why?” Because she said, “your classmates don’t have $2.00.” On hearing this I said to myself, “What the hell does that mean?” She repeated again, ”Your classmates don’t have $2.00.” With this I lifted my head so as to look around my class, and I saw about 30 pairs of brown and black eyes staring at me wondering what decision I would come to. The message she was repeatedly trying to give us was just beginning to penetrate my thick skull. I turned around and walked to my desk, sat down, put my head on my arms and waited until everyone had left the room to go home. I

knew there would be little sleep for me because I had a whole lot of thinking to do now.

Next, a more formidable problem came to mind. This was a young Mexican girl, quite attractive in every way except for the fact that she had developed a large skin blemish. From a layman’s perspective this appeared to be an infection which has somehow invaded the layer of skin on her face, about the size of her fist that is colorless, transparent, off white, and most apparent a rather vivid shade of bright pink that regrettably catches the eye clear across the room. I made this observation of her condition in the late 1940’s or early 0’s and medical had not advanced its diagnosis or related treatment to where it is today. Hopefully, she had received remedied help for her condition, and I wish her well and may God bless her.

I know faced probably the most challenging task in my life thus far. Close and objective self-examination and objective evaluation does not come easily to even a few persons. So, the best approach I think is to choose the persons who for one reason or another would be most reluctant and even annoyed by my personal approach and intrusion into his or her privacy. But, it suddenly occurred to me that the old “sink or swim” approach might work best and eliminate the theatrical approach, which is phony. I, and many others became amazed at how this changed my attitude and demeanor for the better. A few of the girls even brought her flowers from their yard and garden. The relief effort on Marguerite’s caregiver sister was nearly as rewarding as it was for Marguerite. I, and I hope many of you, would take one message away from this story, and this is to TRY to improve someone’s life, you will never know how well your trial may work or not. Put another way—”It won’t be the end of the world if it doesn’t work, or it may be a bright new world for someone if it does.” “What the hell, give it a try”?

Editor’s Note:

Clearly the Author’s story reveals a turning point in his life, as he self-reflects on a few incidents that occurred in his elementary school years. The story about the young girl, Marguerite, may have some missing components here, but clearly, she was challenged with a facial pigmentation malady, which affected her social acceptance in the classroom. The Author’s circus story’ made a lifelong impact in the way he lived and treated others throughout the rest of his life.