If you ever travel to Oakley Kansas, there's one person you have to meet. And if you want to find him, everyone in the town of about 2,000 knows exactly where he lives.
They will lead you to the basement of an insurance salesman, preparing for an act so death defying it could make your jaw drop.
"This is what I call my beginners blade. Just solid steal, a piece of scrap metal we had plated. With a little luck it will go right down and give you an idea on how sword swallowing works," said James "Lucky" Ball.
At 76-year-old, Lucky has been swallowing swords for 64 years. "This one is a little more dangerous and it does have a point on it," he says before swallowing another sword.
How he got into this profession might make you wonder about his upbringing. "I asked my mother when are you going to teach me to swallow swords? And she said right now."
That's right, his mom Estelline Pike passed down the family trade. "So she started explaining how it worked and how to swallow swords. I was 12-years-old when I learned how to swallow swords." And if he needed any further instructions, he could always ask his dad. "Sword swallowing was a thing that he pretty well excelled in. He was featured in Robert Ripley's Believe It or Not."
With a pedigree like that, his future was predestined for show businesses. "I was associated with all different kind of entertainers, everything from knife throwers and sword swallowers to fire eaters, it was just a natural thing," Lucky said.
A lifestyle filled with talented people, who are now gone. "The ones I was really good friends with have already went to that big county fair in the sky."
But just like all good entertainers, the show must go on. He holds the record for the oldest sword swallower. "Ok folks, at 76-years-old I can still do the act out of 7 billion people in the entire world. I am the only one who has been doing this for 64 years and I thank you very much."
Lucky has retired from working in a carnival but still performs for small groups. He's currently trying to get into the Guinness Book for World Records for being the oldest sword swallower.
