Commentary on Clowns

I woke up this morning, like I often do, with a bed-head that looks like clown hair. It's pretty funny. Reflecting on that fact lead me to realize that this is another gap in the generations. I grew up thinking clowns were kind and funny. My childhood experience of clowns is from watching Clarabelle on The Howdy Doody Show. She couldn't talk, only honked her horn, and she was nice. There was "Bozo the Clown" - I had his picture on my bedroom wall and "BOZO" is actually the first word I ever learned to read because his name was on the picture. I loved watching Red Skelton on TV. He was a very funny clown in some of his skits. I loved Emmett Kelley for his sad, sad face. He had a five o'clock shadow just like my dad.

My kids grew up thinking clowns are scary maniac killers. It seems there have been enough horror movies featuring clowns to have made a bad impression. When they were little I found a stuffed clown doll that I thought they would love. Instead we had to keep it hidden out of sight. "Not in the closet! What are you thinking!" I finally caught on and gave the clown away.

The only "contemporary clown" that is sweet that I can think of is the one in Tomi de Paulo's The Clown of God. I love the way he illustrates that folk tale. There's also the clowns in Cirque de Soliel's Corteo, which I've mentioned before. This leads me to believe those Steven King etal. stories/movies are a clear case of media distortion breeding prejudice.

So here's to bed-head mornings and big lipstick! Here's to innocent joy and clumsy tumbles! Here's to laughing at silliness and imperfections! And here's to kind acceptance of all our differences and the challenge to work for change!