Lawyer leaves courtroom for actual circus

MACON - Attorney Philip Dolci worked in Illinois for seven years in the sometimes circus-like environment of the criminal courtroom. <br> <br> But five years ago he ran off to join an actual circus, where he feels at home among elephants, white tigers, clowns, tightrope walkers, trapeze artists and a human cannonball. <br> <br> The 39-year-old Dolci said, ``I&#39;m living my dream, and it&#39;s wonderful. Every time we can make a child smile, it&#39;s worth a million dollars.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Well, not literally. Dolci won&#39;t give the exact figure, but he said his current salary is less than a third of what he made as a lawyer. <br> <br> Now he has the only job he ever wanted as a child -- traveling to more than 100 cities a year as ringmaster, dog trainer and spokesman for the Sterling And Reid Brothers Circus. <br> <br> The circus stopped in Macon this week, and the show moves to Augusta on February ninth-tenth. <br> <br> Dolci saw a circus for the first time at age six, and his obsession grew with time. <br> <br> He said, ``I always knew I would one day join the circus. It was just something I always wanted to do. I just always thought I would retire first before I joined.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> In 1996, he took a month&#39;s vacation to Alaska to travel with a circus and train performing dogs. The trip inspired him to give up his law practice, but it took another 14 months to clear up all his pending cases. <br> <br> Dolci said, ``I had a retirement party. The next day I joined the circus full-time.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Sterling And Reid has 160 performers and a crew of 40 workers who set up and dismantle the circus at each stop.

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