"To Eat Or Not To Eat?"

It's a tough thing for people not in this business to understand; we get offered the best of food. Prime rib and old fashioned hamburgers with thick slices of tomatoes, home made tacos off of an authentic grill, Brazillian sweets, roasted pig, hand picked strawberries, Indian, Thai, Mexican all in celebration.

I have to weigh how much...I want to weigh. Luckily, I generally have no interest in eating when I'm performing. I usually just eat to keep my motor running. When I'm working I can hardly taste food, I'm pretty jacked up, so I just swallow it and smile. This saves me from eating like a pig. I also have a general policy of turning down birthday cake with the line "sorry, it's a clown hazard" which gets a laugh.

But here's the thing. A clown is not the refrigerator repair man. The clown walks in through the front door and is greeted by cheers from the kids, jokes from the adults a sigh of relief from the client. You are a special part of a special day. So that means you better eat.

All cultures show their gratitude with food. So, turning down food is ill mannered and borderline insulting. You have made these people feel incredibly special, you've made their children laugh with glee, you are in the family albums forever.

"Naaaah, I don't want your food."

I think it's really important to eat. I've also found it's very easy to fake it if you don't like the food, your a vegetarian or you are going to your own party afterward. The old kid trick of stirring around the food then tossing it discreetly; who's going to know it's your plate? And no one stares at you while you eat, they have other things to do. When they say "did you get enough to eat?" You can say, "If I lived here and ate like this, I would become a big fat clown!" Again, you've complimented them and enjoyed their hospitality.

I'm not a big fan of the "can you pack it for me to go" school either. That puts people out. There are times you can't eat, because you are running out the door but really, you can't find 7 minutes to enjoy the food they've worked so hard to prepare?

Be polite Chow Down!