Clown Stories: Tickle Me Elmo No More

not too long ago, I was on my regular grind as a clown. now, most of you know that this means I not only dress up as a clown (wig, make up, weird clothes, etc.) but also as characters like Dora the Explorer, Cookie Monster, Hello Kitty, etc. It's a great job that includes free hugs from generally cute kids, free food, and the opportunity to just be a kid myself.

back to the story....

not too long ago, I was on my regular grind as a clown. This time I was dressed up as Elmo on a very warm Los Angeles winter day. I played games with the kids and painted their faces. Pretty nice family all in all. The birthday girl was scared and crying but that is actually pretty standard fare for my gigs, oddly enough. (side note: could be because the Elmo outfit smells a bit like wet dog for the most part. But who knows?)

At the very end of my hour and half adventure, I made balloon animals for the 20 + kids at the party. There was a group of boys about 12 years old that kept on asking for extra balloons. Now, if I wanted to spend the rest of my life at that birthday party, then I would have just kept on making those balloons even if they popped or got lost or whatever. However, I am a semi-strict clown: ONE balloon per kid- NO MATTER WHAT. (of course that rule is broken often, but i stick to it for the most part). The boys kept asking and I ulitmately ignored them and packed up.

I collected the clown money from the mom, said my goodbyes and headed down the block to my car (yes, still dressed as elmo). As I leave, I hear some mumbling from the boys but pay it no mind. I was about half a block down when I hear the glorious shouts of pre-adolescent boys:

"FUCK YOU ELMO"

Yes, they screamed not once, but twice:

"FUCK YOU ELMO"

I laughed, went to my car and drove home.

hilarious! welcome to my world....

and for those of you keeping track of my antics, this was the SAME day that I was kicked out of a downtown area bar for ASSAULT (see previous blog!)