The Clown

Many years ago, things were so much different across our country.

Families were paramount. Before a family member made a decision, it was first considered how the family would be affected. The family as a whole was consulted, and the decision was often jointly made.

Oh, kids were indeed known to go away to colleges far from home, or set out to seek fame and fortune in any of the country's cities, but, for the most part, families stuck together. Kids learned a trade or worked in the family business.

The many tiny towns that dotted the map were always busy little hubs of activity. Entertainment, in those days, didn't mean a weekend in the city, but rather festivals, fairs, socials, dinners, and any number of activities could be seen in many of these small towns and villages across the land.

It was at an event much like these where we get our first look at the young man of whom this tale is written. He was but a young boy at this time, wide-eyed and impressionable like he would be at no other age. A traveling circus had stopped to perform in this little town, and the boy's family was among the crowd there to watch.

The elephants dazzled and the strong man wowed the crowd. The dancing bear was a favorite and the tight-rope walkers amazed all in attendance. But, our boy's attraction was with the circus clown.

A wild outfit of bright colors that didn't seem to go together. Oversized shoes and a gaudy necktie as wide as it was short. The clown wore a bright orange curly wig and had painted his face in bizarre colors. He flopped around the circus ring, in and out of the performers. He teased the elephants and pretended to be terrified by the dancing bear.

The clown stole the show. Soon, people lost track of the main acts because their attention was riveted on the crazy antics of that lone clown. The boy had never seen anything like this. He was enamored with the clown's ability to entertain the crowd.

After the show, as the crowd was filing out, the boy caught a glimpse of the clown sitting off at a distance. He was peeling the layers of costume off and setting it aside for tomorrow's show. What struck the boy, in that brief moment, was the incredible amount of sadness on the face of the clown.

Some things we see at that age pass by relatively unnoticed, while others stay with us for a lifetime. It was that brief encounter the night of the circus that our boy would not forget.

Yet, life goes on. Wars were fought and lives were lost. Major events rocked the country, eventually changing the lives of those even in our small towns and villages. Along with the changes, our young boy becomes a man.

Over the years, he seems to grow a bit differently than many of those around him. Sure, he played the games of youth, but yet never seemed to quite fit anywhere. He became more mature sooner than others and became less a part of the lives of those his age.

At some point during his formative years, the boy's family was tragically lost through a series of events unimportant to our tale. This may have affected the different paths on which he would ultimately walk through life's ways.

Although he learned a trade at which he worked in the village, his interactions with other villagers seemed to change. While businesslike and polite, he became more and more removed from the social activities of the community. Folks stopped inviting him to parties and no longer included him in their plans. Our young man had become an outcast and a loner.

Always of a curious nature, he filled his free time with books and oddities for a man his age. He devoured any information available, being fascinated by a changing world. At the back of it all was the memory of that night years ago when he went to the circus.

He became engrossed in learning the history of how clowns came to be. He read books and collected memorabilia. He soon amassed a sizable wardrobe of the trade, complete with wigs and makeup. Not that he had any intention of becoming a clown, but still, he was held spellbound by that sad man who wore that crazy costume so many years before.

Fairs and festivals had continued as before, although the young man hadn't joined in for some time, knowing he just didn't fit in. From his little room above a local store, he could watch those who reveled in the festivities. He longed to be welcomed into these events, but it wasn't meant to be.

The big event of the year was the County Fair held each fall. Large crowds gathered from all around. The sounds of music and laughter filled the air. The merry sounds of the calliope added to the festive mode of the air.

Smoke rose from the food stands, where hamburgers and brats were grilling to send their seductive aroma to summon hungry revelers. All was merry for the week of the Fair.

Just once, the young man wondered what it would be like to be one of the merry crowd below, who seemed captivated by all that was about them. He thought of his costumes and of that circus clown's ability to mesmerize that crowd so many years before.

Why couldn't he do the same? He had the costumes and makeup. He'd read all about the tricks of entertaining a crowd. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, he sat down before his mirror and box of makeup. In no time, he was transformed from a lonely young clerk into a smiling wistful clown. This time, HE was going to the Fair!

The clown walked down the back stairs that opened onto an alley adjacent to the town's main street where the Fair would be centered. He circled around and slipped into the early evening crowd.

Almost immediately, he was noticed by a shrieking young boy who ran up to him asking what "that big red ball on his face" was. The clown reached down to pull a shiny new quarter from behind the ear of the young boy, leaving him to run off to tell his friends.

A young girl was standing with her family as they waited for their food order to be delivered. She was looking bored, so the clown knelt down to shake her hand. He pulled from his lapel pocket a bright green handkerchief to wipe his eye, then handed it to the girl, urging her to take the handkerchief. As she pulled, other colors came following that green square. It didn't seem to end but continued on in every color of the rainbow. As the family's food had arrived, the clown patted the girl's head and headed on his merry way - handkerchieves in tow.

As he walked on, more and more people noticed and pointed at the oddity they didn't quite know what to make of. By this time, kids were following the clown as he hopped on a merry-go-round horse. His pockets were filled with candy, which he threw out to the gathering crowd.

From then on, the clown was seen everywhere for the rest of the week. He sold tickets to the tilt-a-whirl and was seen on a seat at the top of the Ferris Wheel, with a laughing child on either side. As the parade began, he hitched a ride in the car carrying the Grand Marshall. Later, he was riding on a Cub Scout float. He seemed to have an endless supply of candy which he was always throwing to the crowd.

He worked the popcorn stand after the parade, delighting the crowds with a handshake that would sound a squeaky horn when his hand was squeezed.

No one knew who he was, or from where he came. But, it was clear, that he'd become a part of the Fair that year. It was never considered that he was one of their own, who daily worked and walked among them. Rather, they supposed him to be a professional act hired by the Fair Board to entertain the crowd.

Each night, he disappeared as quickly as he had earlier appeared, slipping away through the back alley and up the narrow stairway leading to his little apartment.

The Fair came to an end and life returned to normal for the village on the following Monday. Our clown man was among them, unbeknownst to anyone that he had been the one that thrilled and delighted them just the week before. Once again, he had become the unnoticed little man at the store down the street.

As time passed, other festivals and activities took place, and everyone hoped for the appearance of the clown who had entertained them during the Fair. But, he never appeared. Actually, it wasn't long before our clerk/clown man left the little town. He was never to be seen again.

Not much was made of his disappearance if it was noticed at all. But, for some years later, townsfolk remembered fondly and talked about frequently, the year the clown came to the Fair.

Whatever became of our young clown man was never known. It seems safe to say that he took something from his experience of that Fair as well. How he saw it was doubtlessly in a totally different light than how it was seen by the townspeople as they remembered the Fair.