"It's Surreal to be a Clown.."

I visited the kids at Family House last night. Just for clarity, Family House is a place where families live while their kids are in super extreme car at UCSF Med Center. A lot of these children are bald, in wheel chairs, are very small because they don't grow.

There is a Thanksgiving party every year I go to. Volunteers make food, it's a big celebration, then they see their favorite Boswick the Clown.

OK, that's the scenario.

I am famous at Family House, and when I say famous, I mean Brad Pitt, Robin Williams famous. They have posters all over announcing my visit, they have a giant poster of me with a kid on the wall, they have a photographer to shoot the show. Last night a bunch of kids skipped the feast so they could hang out with me as I set up.

That's pretty uncomfortable for me but this show and this is bad phrasing, kills. I mean, I have the sick kids, their brothers and sisters, parents, staff and umpteen volunteers laughing in hysterics.

I got involved with Family House because they are 2 blocks from where I live. No car, just a clown walking down the street with his junk to a show.

My neighborhood is one of those really popular city neighborhoods, with hipsters, oldsters, shoppers and ATM users. Walking, I have to pass 4 restaurants, either side of the road, 3 banks, and a grocery store. Lots of people.

Mostly people ignore me, in an obvious, I'm ignoring you on purpose way. Which is always odd, I am a clown, they could say hi, or have a good day or quit clowning around. And it's at night, the show is around 7:30, you probably aren't expecting to see a clown at night going out to dinner.

I'm a celebrity in my little universe. And walking home, I'm a weirdo in a clown suit. It's the strangest of feelings. I just keep wanting to say, "you should have seen me 10 minutes ago, they couldn't stop laughing" But I'm getting people walking by me saying, "clowns scare me" And yes, they do say that right to me.

I read a great story about the world's greatest violinist playing in the subway as an experiment. The conclusion was basically, out of context you don't appreciate an art form.

As a clown, I am the living embodiment of the art itself. it's not a recording of a song, or a photo on display. It's me walking by...sort of a celebrity.

I spend my life looking for fame. So when I get that fame in abundance, it's really surreal to have it taken away so quickly.

I would drive but there's no place to park around here!