I was mildly concerned about the day's clowning when I realized that I had left my balloon pump back in my apartment. I had clowned in the Gateways2Life center back in September, and I knew these kids would stone me if I wasn't able to give them balloon animals! When the morning rush settled down, a co-worker drove me back to the apartment and I grabbed my pump and went back to work.
I started by making balloon animals. After quite some time, I got the kids to want Chahloula to do something funny. They were hitting the table and chanting, "Magic! Magic!" I was all for it! I think I even started it.
I had my laptop with music and had prepared a few routines and magic tricks for the show. Because I had gotten the kids interested in seeing magic, I deviated from my 'program'. I started with a couple disappearing water tricks and the change bag. The gasps were heard all the way in the kitchen when I made water disappear! It was so fun!
Chahloula did her usual things, but they were new to almost all of these kids. After I juggled the scarves, I found someone who wanted to try it, and everyone was surprised when I put a big red clown nose and funny glasses on the volunteer. We played dress-up for a few minutes and then moved onto something else.
This audience was also unusually surprised when I brought out the over-sized comb and scissors. I was delighted by their reactions. Somehow, these routines seemed new to me because of their reactions.
So where does the 'chicken with the loose-fitting pants' fit into all this? I will tell you. I had planned on doing my new routine, but I chickened out. Don't ask me why; I don't know. Maybe I need to practice it a few times, or run it by a friend to find out if it is funny.
And my favorite part of the day was towards the end when Chahloula was dancing with a few of the girls. My current clown pants are really loose. While dancing, I had to pull my pants up several times. The girls were following my dance moves, including pulling their pants up!
Note to self: make Chahloula wear a belt next time!