Anywhere and Everywhere

I don't know if I am doing this clown-thing right. Don't most clowns have an area of expertise? Aren't there specific hospital clowns, circus performers, party clowns, and so on? I seem to clown anywhere and everywhere. All I need is an invitation!

I may have started out clowning at my home church in western North Carolina, but I went out from there pretty quickly.

One of the first trips my daughter and I went on was to a very poor area of West Virginia.

The team we worked with filled bags with food and distributed them to families in their homes. (I remember the appalling living conditions! It was worse there than in Tunisia.) A clown show was just one of the things we did that week.

After that, I found myself with a group in Morocco. We visited a hospital and an orphanage, along with accomplishing other projects during those two weeks.

Often in my clown journey, I have asked myself, "How in the world did I get here?" I feel very blessed to have been able to use my clown skills at the refugee camps here in Tunisia. 

(That was the day I sweated so much I couldn't get my nose to stay on and had to wear a red foam nose!) I have clowned near the Sahara Desert, next to the Libyan border, in large tents.

(That was probably as close to the 'big top' as I will ever get!)

I have performed in a field in a mountain village in northern Tunisia. And in a small, crowded room for neighborhood Tunisian scouts.

Oh, and how could I forget clowning on the pirate ship on the Mediterranean Sea!

Or fail to remember clowning in the courtyard of the mosque!

And I will never forget the joy of being the first clown at the school 'in the middle of nowhere'!

 I am reminded of the book, Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. (Check it out on Youtube when you have a few minutes. It is wonderful.)

We are all on a journey. My journey might include clowning at a Syrian refugee camp near Turkey for a couple weeks this summer. All I need is an invitation!