Adorina and the Elephant Choir

About the Book

The circus has been an art form since early Roman times, and was the best and only local, traveling entertainment, before huge electronic technology advances of the twentieth century. The history of the circus from early times to present is important, fascinating, and disappearing. There is another piece of history, soon to disappear forever, and sometimes linked with circus life, the cultural ethnic group of peoples called Gypsys. The gypsy world is underdocumented and somehow linked to a lifestyle of traveling and entertaining people. What is a circus without animals or a gypsy camp without horses?

The main character of Adorina and the Elephant Choir is a gypsy girl, called Dori, who started life as an abandoned baby, and grew up to become the star of a circus. She became an animal trainer or one of those people who have an affinity with animals and a special way to communicate with them. Dori had no mother, in the beginning, but during her life in the circus is given, two special mothers. She is a twin and finds herself in danger, from her gypsy brother. She is by birth order, first born, and therefore Queen of the Gypsys. Dori also finds her selfworth and a boy to love.

The circus she lived in, is a place most kids would love to run away to. Adorina and the Elephant Choir tells the story of the circus and the people who live and breathe circus. Also, the book deals with human relationships, trials and tribulations, emotions, and resolution. The book is generally geared for children and young people, but adults will enjoy reading the book also.

About the Author

P.L. Chestney is a late bloomer. At twenty five years of age, she was granted indentured servant status to a husband whose idea of a marital relationship was to keep the woman locked in the house, and naked. With the marriage, came two sons and a new job title, slave to the selfish, normal kids; now, thankfully grown and independent. During this period, P.L. was cursed with the responsibility of a house; all upkeep, repair and remodelling. There was no money to pay tradespeople, so, P.L. went to free trade college. She was looking for an avocation, and repair abilities. Her husband, Robert, a workaholic chef, was working eighty hours in a good week. P.L. made a lot of mistakes, as she learned, especially, about plumbing. P.L. is now an advocate for women, to learn, where the main water shut off valve, is located, in the house.

For a few years, P.L. bred, Airdales, German Shephards, a magnificent Mackinzee Valley Timber Wolf, now deceased, and domestic Bengal cats. The animals barely paid for their upkeep. P.L. was in the red, after all the shovelling. P.L., the child of extremely disfunctional parents, aren't we all, is a fanatic animal lover, poet, environmentalist, Christian, social activist, cement mixer, inventor, cartoonist, upholsterer, tennis umpire, appliance repairperson, artist, mail sorter, and computer programmer. P.L. found a 2000 BMW touring Sedan, in 1983, for $500, and drove it home on three cylinders. She built an engine hoist, pulled, and rebuilt the engine for her husband's birthday. That project, the husband drooled over.

One year, P.L. and the boys dug up the side of the house for a patio; a section 70 ft. long, 20 ft. wide, and 2 ft. deep. P.L. searched the garbage and dump for old metal: bike frames, metal mattress frame, pipes; anything metal to be used as rebar structure in the cement. P.L. asked her husband why he didn't come home and help lay the 6 yds. of cement. He said he thought P.L. was making a mistake. Then, there was the year P.L. ripped off the roof, for an addition to the house. When asked why he didn't help this time, the husband replied, "I thought P.L. was out of her mind."

After the cement patio success; how hard is it to screw up cement?, P.L. decided to express herself in cement. You, no doubt, have heard of the Great Wall of China, well P.L. built the great wall of Chestney. For over fifteen years, P.L. mixed cement, one 80 pound bag, at a time, in a wheelbarrow. Her mix record, for her best day, was, 10, eighty pound bags, one by one. During those years, she put up a footing, 14 inches high by 12 inches wide, and 200 feet long, to set fence posts in. She was intrigued by the permanency of cement. She started out mixing 14 bags to an 8 ft. section but rapidly learned to buy ten cent broken bricks, in lots, for fill, and reduced her mix count to 6 bags, per 8 ft. section. P.L. then decided there was more potential for cement as decorative ground cover. Besides, she was tired of mowing the grass. She started covering ground with heavy duty paving bricks and other odd things she could cement down. She eventually filled in the entire back yard, plus many more areas with cement coverage. One day, while cementing over ground, in the back yard, the husband came out and excitedly insisted, P.L. leave openings to drain water. P.L. thought the husband was interfering and controlling again, but did what he suggested. She built a large open pit barbecue, and a drain canal to a 4 inch waste pipe. Boy was she glad, she heard him. She has never had a flooded back yard. One time, she tried to add up the number of pounds of cement she had mixed, by hand, but gave up at 70,000lbs. Now, she has a cement mixer. P.L. is a Jill of all trades, master of none.

P.L. has written numerous articles, triggered by events in her life, some of which were actually published, in a BMW tradespaper, a Chef's magazine, and a Baptist Singles periodical. One poem and three cartoons were also published. Being so opinionated, P.L. majored in, Letters to the Editor. P.L. worked her own upholstery business for two years; but gave it up, after one to many, number 12 tacks, pierced her thumb nail, as she tried to upholster and daycare wild sons, simultaneously. For five years, P.L. worked as a tennis umpire. The pay was lousy, and the stress horrific; but it kept alive, her competitive tennis hacker hobby. She had a few wins, many losses, and lots of exercise. P.L. sorted mail, for the state, after her husband, told her, she couldn't hold down a job, and was nothing without his money. It was an awful, under paid, night job; but she did it for a year. She showed him, how to work all night and take care of two kids all day, while laying on the couch.

P.L. wrote an earlier book about animals and taking care of the earth, entitled, WHEN THE ANIMALS LEFT. The book won the 1996 Animal Rights Writing Award, presented by the International Society For Animal Rights. P.L. spent another year developing and patenting an electronic device, repair kit. In 1988, P.L. took up painting, and, eventually, exhibited in the Colorado Duck Stamp Contest and other small local artist shows. Her passionate dream is, to make money, on her work product, like a real job.

As P.L. approaches her sixtieth birthday in 2003; she wonders how much of life is memory; who cares. Her father had so many electric shock treatments, in his struggles to cope with life, she was forced to research defective DNA. P.L. finally views success in life as: peace of mind, no regrets, and a healthy self image.

P.L. wrote this poem in one of her many moments of reflection.