By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

When juggler Brian Wendling entertained a crowd of 120 Wednesday at Marion community center, he sprinkled in a number of life lessons.

He talked to children who made up most of the crowd, about being kind to each other.

When he dropped a prop, he made that into a lesson as well.

“Oh, I made a mistake,” he said as he picked it up. “You make a mistake, you try it again.”

He called a teen to juggle with him and pulled scarves out of a suitcase.

He handed the teen four scarves and said that people learning to juggle started slowly. The teen looked uncertain, but Wendling told him to throw the scarves into the air one at a time.

The boy threw the scarves into the air, and Wendling said to throw them higher.

After the teen juggled the scarves, Wendling showed him how to place his hand over his stomach and take a bow.

“If you notice, I don’t do anything dangerous because I don’t want you to see me do it here and do it at home,” Wendling told the children.
His visit to Marion was arranged by Marion City Library.