A Bunch of Clowns

I spent all day with a bunch of clowns. Yes, the real ones. The Ringling Brother's kind of clowns. Its a four day workshop on perfecting the art of clowning. I'm what they call a Joey. I've been a clown for about 6 months. Some of the attendees have been clowns for 50 years. The stories they tell, are what movies are made of.

When I was a kid, I like so many others, wanted to run away and join the circus. Its sounded good. I had no idea what exactly that meant. I've been a goofball all my life. Before I turned 50 I was a shy goofball. Now I'm a loud one. It was on the list of things I wanted to do during my life – be a clown. I also wanted to work with hospice as a volunteer. So, I am a volunteer with Hospice as a clown. I checked off two things on my list, with one organization - Tidewell Hospice & Palliative Care.

Part of the workshop today was learning how to twirl plates on a stick, make balloon animals and juggling. I got the jungling down, and after many attempts had a plate spinning on a stick. The red plates spun the best. I couldn't get the blue ones going. I was told they were the same, but I disagree. My balloon animals look like biological disasters. My dog had legs that didn't match in length. I couldn't even pretend they were cats or pigs. So I started making abstract hats. That seemed to work much better.

There's something magical about being a clown. Its not just putting on the makeup, although that is part of it. It comes from the heart outwards.