Send in the Clowns.


I heart/hate clowns. (circle one)







The funny thing about clowns is….. (sometimes I crack myself up) people either love them or hate them. They seem to be one of those things where few people are down the middle. People say I am a clown most of the time. There are several reasons for that. First off, I am a huge optimist. You know how people are either a “glass is half empty or full” type? Well I take it a step further. I am more of a “wow, I have a glass and there is something in it” kind of person. I almost always look for (and find) a bright side to everything. Because of that, I am more times than not, a happy person. And because I am a happy person I am almost always smiling. And that is why people usually either love me or hate me.


For some reason a lot of people out there hate when someone is happy. They look at the dark side of everything so my smile really makes them angry. I often get the comment “Why are you so darn happy?” I like to come back with; “things could always be worse” or “I am happy to be alive” or the one that really irks them; “I am just happy to be here with all of you”. And then I smile. I am going to do an experiment. I have a meeting to go to in 15 minutes and I will put on my best smile. (I have a lot of things to smile about) I will come back and post the results. I am predicting that maybe 1 out of the 12 people in the meeting will smile back and I will get 3 or 4 snide comments. Be Right Back.


And here is what happened; There were only 10 people at the meeting today. I walked in with a big smile on my face and no one wanted to make eye contact with me. I guess they know I am happy and didn’t want it to rub off. I did catch two people smiling for a brief moment but by the end of the meeting everyone was down. Way down. You would have thought it was a funeral. These people are getting paid big bucks to sit in a meeting and discuss things. Ok, so where was I? Oh yes, clowns.

So where does this clown love/hate relationship come from. I think it stems back to our childhood. Clowns could very well be the earliest form of child abuse. I mean a parent puts this clown in a baby’s room and it just sits there staring and smiling with that smug little grin. You can talk to it, curse it, hit it but it still just smiles. It really is creepy. Have you seen the e-trade commercial where the little kid rents a clown with all the extra “coin” he made using e-trade? He gets it thinking It will be cool and then it scares him because he underestimated the creepy factor? That about sums up my feelings.


Then you throw in a movie like Poltergeist and we are scared for life. Remember that scene? The storm is approaching and the little kid is in bed. He looks over and the evil clown is sitting there in the chair and he sees it every time lightening flashes. Because he is scared, he gets under the covers and he would have been safe but Noooooooo he has to look. And when he looks, guess what? No Clown. Now at this point, everyone knows where the clown is so why doesn’t he? Why do they insist on looking under the bed when they are scared? Of course when he looks under the bed, the clown is there and it grabs him.


So there you have it. I like happy people but I hate clowns. And I am not alone. I hear Cannibals don’t like them either. They say they taste funny.

Have a nice day.
Greg

Comments

B His Girl said…
Hey Greg,

Don't have much time but there are 3 photos in my Turtle Tuesday today. Don't want you to be disqualified for leaving out one. The prize will be good! Will read this post later. I love the song by Judy Collins...Send in the Clowns. B
LOL at taste funny! Gresat ending line. I am afraid of clowns...I think it goes back to a Twilight Zone episode...but I'm with you I prefer smiles and happy people to doom and gloom!
Skoots1moM said…
i am so glad you don't have to worry about being eaten by a cannibal...
i love SOME clowns, some SCARE me...think it must be the makeup...absolutely loved red skelton and his clown work...and his clown paintings.
i used to have a clown collection as a kid...they were all ceramic...i threw them all away one day thinking I was too grown up for them...wish i still had them for rememberance sake (My mom made several of them)

good post...love your clowning around!
Susan Skitt said…
What's that old song, "Bring in the clowns?" LOL!

I think it's great you smile. As for clowns, I love to watch them perform at the circus, but my youngest son has always and still is TERRIFIED of clowns. Someone told me there is a name for it that has the ending "phobia" - of course they give names to everything, don't they?

Wait until you read about my discover about Aluminum Foil today...
aww gross, they taste funny;) I not only do not like clowns I don't like anything dressed in costume, where you can't see the persons face. It creeps me out.

I love it that you smile a lot. I like being around people that are happy, because you just can't be in a bad mood when you are around them.
Debbie said…
Love the cannibal comment. And yes, clowns are a little freaky to me.
sandy said…
That does it, one thing I haven't tried to paint yet is a clown! I'm not doing it to taunt you, mind you..just for practice.

I use to own this really cool clown painting with five or six clown faces, similar to yours you posted. My husband took it to the office and hung it there and I have no clue whatever happened to it. My kids hated it.

Enjoyed reading about your experiement...I can tell you are a happy type of guy, so much like my husband, who never gets down, always has a smile and never sees anything as a problem, just a challenge. You and he would get along sitting on the front porch yakking about stuff. He's the talker in the family, more than I am. I am a hermit...ensconsed with all my little hobbies around me.
Kelly said…
You crack me up!!!! I don't hate clowns or love them. I think they're silly. My kids aren't afraid of them (we just went to the circus, so I know this).

I'm usually smiling too. I think people don't like it because it makes people wonder what we're up to.
Becky said…
I am one of those down the middle kind of peeps that could go either way on the clown issue. I like how you describe your glass, maybe thats why I am so socially awkward. I like to laugh and smile. When I am at the grocery store I try to make eye contact with people and give them a hearty grin. Unless its someone Im trying to avoid, lol. I even try to cheer up the grumpy checkers by engaging them in nice conversation, or making light about long lines or waits. The Earth is overpopulated... deal with it... look at your glass... even if it looks empty, its FULL of air. (Mr.Wizard taught me that)
Wanda said…
Most of time I agree, clowns are scary.... I do respect the Rodeo clowns...but then that's work!!

I am a hopeless optimist too. And not ashamed of it!!!


((((SMILE -SMILE - SMILE - )))

LOL:Wanda
My ADHD Me said…
Reading
Reading
Reading

Cracking up big time (they taste funny!!!)

WAHAHAHAHA!!
Edie said…
LOL! I'm with you. Don't like the clowns, never have. Sometimes because they look scary, sometimes because they just look dumb. The bottom line is, it's just not a look I find appealing.

As for meetings, I don't like those either. For just the reason you mentioned. I always felt like it was a huge waste of time and money. I would much rather be doing something productive. I've also had bad experiences in meetings so I understand feeling waaayy down by the time it was over, BUT... I would still smile at anyone who was smiling.
Edie said…
But I did like the song "Cathy's Clown".
Anyone who can make a flea market like yours sound like "an event to be at" is an optimist. My favorite kind of people!
Guess you could say I'm catching up today...

I don't really like clowns either. Sometimes they are scary to me because I was stupid enough to read Stephen King's "IT" when I was a teenager. Bluuuuughh.....

I do agree with whoever said they like rodeo clowns, though. They are not scary to me for some reason. Maybe it's because my hubby used to rodeo when he was a teenager/young adult, so my perspective is that those clowns are actually lifesavers! :-)
Monogram Queen said…
Clowns kinda creep me out too but I blame the movie "It"!
My theory is that they are mysterious. You sort of recognize a human face, but it's distorted, and some people (not all) are frightened by things they don't immediately understand. Hence, fear of clowns. that will be $500, Greg.
Scarlet said…
Ha! They taste funny...yes. :)

I DO NOT like clowns, but I love a happy person with a BIG smile...and I ALWAYS smile back. There's not enough optimists in the world, but with all we have going for us, we should be smiling a lot more than we do.

I'm glad to know you smile...and I LOVED your experiment!! :) :) :)
Marla said…
I really don't think clowns are funny. Seems like most kids are scred of them.

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