Purchase the book here (paperback or digital)
Thanks to Amazon, and the wonders of technology, and certainly because of the lock-down and the time I have on my hands now…I’m finally releasing the book I finished as my masters thesis back in 2015. This is a collection of heartwarming, humorous, interesting, and sometimes heartbreaking stories from my years working as Dooney the Clown, Looney Dooney the magician, juggler, face painter, balloon artist, stilt walker, game master, and as Ronald McDonald (for 20+years).
It all started with “The Elephant Story” which I first wrote about about 20 years ago, because it was the funniest single moment of my career. However, I was working on my creative writing masters…the story took on a much larger picture. I’ve spent my entire life trying to bring joy, love, laughter, wonder, and togetherness to my audiences.
I believe that Joy is valuable. In fact…look for a lot more exciting things to come with that theme in mind.
Here are the chapter headings:
- Where do Baby Clowns Come From?
- Just Another Saturday Morning
- In the Beginning
- Steve Garvey is My Hero
- Hey Balloon Man
- Changes Nightly
- He’s a Face-painter
- Life as a Super Star
- The Elephant Story
- The Care and Feeding of Ronald McDonald
- The Best Magic Trick Ever
- The Timing of Chicken Feathers
- It’s not all Fun and Games
- Easter Armageddon
- Super Painters
- Trial by Fire
- The Call and the Very Next Day
- It’s a Long Life
- Odd Jobs
- I Believe in Magic
- Smile at Your Dog
- A Day in the Life
And…here’s a short excerpt.
On one particular visit, I was waiting downstairs in the lobby while my assistant was contacting the hospital administrator who was assigned to walk us through the wards. I was talking to the various people who were in and around the lobby, because when you are a national star, you cannot be unaware of your audience – ever. Everyone else in the room is keenly aware or your presence from the moment you walk in, so you have to be aware of them as well.
As I was waiting to go upstairs, I noticed a woman standing alone in one section of the lobby. Her hair was disheveled, and she may have slept in her clothes. She looked at me with eyes that seemed to still be stinging, and her solemn face screamed silently in pain. She could been living in the purgatory of this hospital waiting room for God-only-knows how long. I knew at once that there was nothing I could say or do, and no funny behavior would have been appropriate at the time. Most of my work involves reading my audience. On that day, this national television star walked over to an unknown woman and gave her a hug. We stood there for quite some time. She hugged me back and softly sobbed. She let everything go for a few minutes, and I simply held her. My handler came back, touched me on the shoulder, and it was time to go upstairs. We looked into each other’s eyes, and our moment was over, but I will never forget it. I’m sure that everyone else in the lobby was also affected as much as I was. That day, Magic happened, and I was lucky enough to be there when it did.