the clown

The “Balloon Clown” sits on the couch near the register at the iHop, curling balloons into curious shapes for $1, each, scaring most kids – and maybe a few adults. Most of his creations look pretty much the same except for the markings he adds with a marking pen, which sort of seems like cheating, doesn’t it? He has a smile painted on his face, for, after all, he is a clown. It is apparent, too, that most folks give him no more than a perfunctory glance and that his only real connections with human beings are the smiles he coaxes from the children, which is either laudatory or creepy, depending on how you consider a single, 42-year-old adult who plies a trade to four-year-olds while wearing oversized shoes. During the week, the clown is a janitor at the bus stop, downtown, sans smile, mostly. Weekends he gets to be creative. He once dreamed of being a Broadway actor. He still does, sometimes.