Happy May day everyone! I snapped this in a park right by my flat where I spent my day laying in the grass, juggling, and playing with my new diabolo! I think it perfectly encompasses the feeling that the first of May should bring. Frolicking in the grass and sun without any underwear on! There were a ton of children and I regretted not bringing my other juggling equipment for them to play with. But they were all quite entertained with one another :)
So! Lots of events have transpired since I last wrote. A lot of my days have been boring and mundane, but many have also been great! Those days almost always involved juggling, children, or circus!
This last weekend, I was invited by a family friend to travel to Frankfurt for the day to participate in a protest. The city has made plans to build an underground museum under this park... which would require the destruction of all of it's beautiful trees! The community has decided to take action and it has been over a year now of monthly events in the park to encourage it's use and discourage the plans for building. It has been a success so far, and I was eager to get to the park and participate. I was also eager to get back into my Delilah costume... because I haven't seen her in so long, I honestly didn't know if she was still there deep inside me..... Like an alien..... Just kidding :)
But I surprised myself Sunday morning, because when I woke to get ready for my first solo gig EVER... my heart was all aflutter with fear, and sadness. This was not the feeling I was used to when getting ready for a gig. There were no other clowns to jazz up with, no Bus of Fun. I was looking forward to playing still, of course, but the great big realization of having to be the clown that takes care of absolutely everything reared it's ugly head. Eep! BUT, the show must go on! I had made an investment... literally and metaphorically. My bag was full of some shiny new toys (1 diabolo, 2 spinning plates, 3 juggling scarves and 9 juggling balls, yipee!). And off I went to the train station.
Anyone who has been to a country that has long distance trains will agree -- there is something about train traveling that has no equivalent. It has the romantic quality, the gentle rocking of the train as it passes field after field, little towns in the hillside and tiny train stations. The ride to Frankfurt is only an hour, but long enough to sit back and contemplate life... one feels at peace with the world and everything is simple and clear. Unlike flying, you're still grounded... you feel the earth as you travel and the distance is so much more tangible. I remember when I was in France for the first time, my favorite part of the whole trip was a train ride we took where a father and his young son got on and played the accordion while we zoomed along the tracks. I felt like I was in a fairy tale and was literally transported to the magical land of my imagination and inspiration. I will never forget that ride. But I digress. Fast forward to the park. All in all, it was a great day of play. I donned the Delilah dress, felt sheepish for about 10 minutes since I had no other clown comrades, but then sucked it up and played anyway! Met some awesome people and played games with a handful of children. It was a small event but I was a very small clown with not very many toys so it was actually quite perfect. Many of the kids were super little, so we made flags with the scarves and spinning plate sticks, played catch with the juggling balls, and wore the spinning plates as hats. It felt good to be in my element again, but I also realized that there are some key words I need to learn in German in order to engage in some actual teaching. All the key sentences I know in English are quite useless when it comes to the kids.
The first of May also has another special meaning to me. In the circus world, a clown's debut show is also known as their First of May. A German friend asked me why, the literal explanation just doesn't seem to make sense. So I said, a new clown in the ring brings a promise of happiness and joy that also comes with the beginning of Spring. Just like Spring, a clown brings laughter, smiles, warmth and inspiration!
As the day wound down, two little sisters who had been there all day with me got on their bikes to depart with their parents. The mother leaned down to tell her two year old to say goodbye. She waved her little hand, and then all of a sudden brought it to her mouth and blew me a fat kiss goodbye! I caught it, placed it safely in my heart, and blew one right back.
And that, my friends, made the whole experience worth it, and I carried that kiss all the way home.
