"A Clown" Challenges Met and Conquered

Hi Everyone, this is Pinky the clown. She is our sister in clowning or what is known in the trade "A Fellow Joey". She has been active with our clown alley since we graduated from clown school. She is one of the people that gives of herself to help make our clown alley a success.

She and her friend Donna recently returned from their backpacking adventure in hiking the 1,200 mile Florida National Scenic Trail.

Pushing their limits to the fullest is an outstanding accomplishment. Enclosed is a synopsis of their story on the trail.

Hi Silly Willy and Fluffy,
I have returned from my backpacking hike of the Florida National Scenic Trail. My partner, Donna Stowe, and I hiked approximately 1,200 miles from December 31, 2007 to April 5, 2008. The trail starts in the Everglades and ends at Fort Pickens on the Gulf Islands National Seashore on the very western end of the Florida Panhandle. The trail passes through most of the national and state forests, parks, and wildlife management areas. It also goes along the dikes on Lake Okeechobee, and the Kissimmee River. It follows many roads in between these areas.

It was a trek of adventure, never knowing what was up ahead, around the corner, or who or what we would meet. We camped along roadsides, under power lines, in peoples’ yards, in the deep isolated forests, in back of fire departments, in citrus groves, and along the rivers. We hiked through way too many swamps and saw way too many snakes in these areas. The most interesting night on the trail was spent on the forest trail that goes through Eglin Air Force Base. We had just settled into our tents when the “war games” started. That’s what I call them. It started with helicopters going right over us at tree line. They were very dark with just a small red light in back and small one in front. The noise was deafening. These helicopters went back and forth. At the same time there were simulated bombs going off and it sounded like some machine guns with them. It all lasted an hour and then was totally quiet in the forest again.

One of the pleasures we had along the way was the passing out of red clown noses to folks we met and to those that helped us (trail angels). We passed them to a couple Boy Scout troops we met in the forests. I would tell them all a joke when I passed them out. The jokes were very corny, but they always got a laugh. Bringing smiles, love, and laughter to someone is a clown’s mission. Here are the corny jokes: What do you do when your nose goes on strike? You Picket !
Why did the bear tip-toe through the campground? He didn’t want to wake the sleeping bags!!

Thank you for letting me share this adventure on your blog.
Love,
Lolly “Pinky”, “Mountain Laurel” Tharpe

Thank you Pinky for sharing your adventure with all who read this blog but mostly for your courage and demonstrating the true meaning of clowning by bringing love, laughter and happiness to everyone you meet. Hugs and "Bump a Nose"!

Our thanks to Dave, Pinky's husband, for his support and assistance in getting this story to our blog.

FUN AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

We escaped to Universal Studios with wonderful friends, Mark and Sharon. This is where you can let your inner child enjoy the rides and fantasy experiences provided by one of Americas top theme parks.







Spiderman, one of our favorite rides, was in rare form as he fought
the ravages of evil characters. "Good does overcome evil !"






It was a hot day and Sharon wanted to jump down and run through the dancing water spouts.








Betty Boop is Kim's favorite. This is just for you honey!








PHEW !!!!!!







Two wonderful days with great friends. Until we meet again, we will miss you!

Kudos, Kudos at the World Clown Convention

Yes, we are very proud of our members from Toby's Clown Alley #296 in Lake Placid, Florida. They placed second in the Group Skit Competition with an uproarious "Brain Transplant" skit. Laughter erupted through the crowd as "Big Al" was choosing a brain for his transplant. "Giggles", playing the doctor was a facilitator in helping to make the right choice. Of course, price is always a factor in making the decision! "Yeah Right"!

This husband and wife team has devoted many years to the Alley. ALBIN "Big Al" Pelski is currently President of Toby's Clown Foundation. He also entertains as an Elvis impersonator in various areas in Florida. Sandy "Giggles" Pelski is currently serving as the President of Toby's Clown Alley which also is affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce in Lake Placid Florida. Our hats are off to this very talented couple.

ARRRGH OH NO !!!

I just cannot believe what happened! Four days of picture taking of clowns from around the world and important visual info from our classes are gone. In a split second by pushing the wrong button they all went bye bye. The 400 plus pictures just disappeared and left a very sinking feeling in my gut.

I wanted to share these pictures with you on our blog. I talked to several people from our convention and they said they would email some of their pictures.

I do have many wonderful pictures in my brain but they are a little scattered!!

World Clown World Friendships

Pardon our magic dust! We are away at this time attending the World Clown Association Convention in Orlando, Florida. Later, we will be sharing with you pictures of clowns from around the world. Our common bond is sharing love, laughter and happiness with everyone we meet. Wouldn't this be a better world if all countries had this same bond. Keep smiling!

Red Skelton "How did he know"

Today is our first day at the World Clown Convention being held in Orlando, Florida. So today's post is being dedicated to Red Skelton, one of television's most famous clowns. Red was also known for his dedicated belief in the United States of America and the freedoms for which it stands. Please take a couple of minutes out of your busy schedule to listen to Red Skelton. Thank you!!!


Listen to Red Skelton

Today's Giggle

Two clowns meet on the street and one is carrying a duck.

1st Clown says, "What's that ugly thing with you?"

2nd Clown says, "It's a duck !"

1st Clown says, " I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to the duck!"

Ooooops a lesson learned !! Very First Gig (Part 2)

After noticing that we had been left behind by the parade, we decided to head for the opening ceremonies and flag raising. Grrreat, the parade was still intact. The honor guard was taking their places for the raising of the flag and we the clowns were there too! We are always amazed at the beauty of Old Glory as it is raised upward to its place at the top of the flagpole.

Now it was time to rejoin the parade back to a staging area. We were placed at the front of the parade, wow, what an honor! Off we went in our glory.....head of the parade! People applauding us and the carriages and others in the parade. It was so exciting. Adults and children called out to us and we went over to more people that were shouting in the crowd. We did balloon twisting, and the chain and ring trick. What laughter and what fun until we noticed that we had lost our second parade in less than 2 hours.

By this time, other fellow Joeys showed up and set up the face painting tents and balloon twisting area. We walked around with a hand mirror introducing people to beautiful people. . . . . . . . . . . .themselves! The temperature had risen past the 98 degree mark and it was 3.00 P.M. . So we decided to catch the Elvis impersonator show. Walking across the field where we were doing balloon sculptures, I suddenly felt faint and asked Fluffy to hold my hand to balance me.
We were so excited we had forgotten to eat lunch or drink any water. Being a diabetic, this all took a toll on me. After a hot dog and a coke and rest in the shade, I was rejuvenated.

We left the festival around 4 P.M. after a full day in costume and makeup. Our first gig was a success and we were still excited!!

On our trip home, we missed a Kodak Moment by not having our camera with us. As we approached a curve in the road, there sitting on four posts were a buzzard on each post looking at each other with a sign behind them which read,"Where's the beef ?"

Ooooops a lesson learned !! Very First Gig

I had hoped to add more to the last post ie picture uploading from my folders however the puter monster has its grubbly little fingers all over my system. So here goes!

It was the spring festival at the Lorida Roundup in Florida 2002. We were asked to be the first clowns to show up for the parade at 9:30 A.M.. We arrived early at 8:40 and the parade was ready to roll. Fluffy and I were placed in the very back of the parade behind twelve horses and riders. What a view we had, swishing tails, wiggling hind quarters and the thought of impending doom if the horses would turn loose with their first batch of garden fertilizer. The parade led us through an area of homes where I pleaded for a shovel or two for self defense or possibly making a trade with the local nursery. Fertilizer is expensive, ya know!!

The parade magically made its way toward the festival grounds. We were very excited about this our very first clowning gig. I looked around the last horse to see the growing crowds of families. Fluffy kept one eye on me and one on the floating horses tails. We still had no shovels!
I shouted, "Hey Fluffy look at all those families along the parade route. Then I noticed two men with two young boys. The one boy had a thick flaming head of hair and freckles all over his face. He looked like Howdy Doody. The other boy, his cousin, had dark hair. So we did our ring trick and just laughed and had fun with the people along the way until we noticed we had lost our parade. How does somebody lose a parade ? I don't know but we lost our very first parade as clowns. (To be continued)

"Ghost Clowns" in the desert

What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay there!!!

Case File Number 834309583957432948730 Date:4 November 2006 Saturday When:Approximately all day Where: Red Rock Canyon Campground, aka 13 Mile Campground Las Vegas, Nevada Case: On 4 November 2006, two camp hosts were seen missing. More on how someone can be seen and missing at the same time is Case File Number 53245249904 with Officer Barny Fife actively seeking answers. It all started when the two hosts, Bob and LaVerne , were last seen Saturday morning. These two people went into their RV, and a couple of clowns came out. That afternoon, campers found themselves restless and distant from society, and many complained of uneasiness, as if they had lost something important. Bob and LaVerne were not seen all day, with no sign of activity at their host site at 13 Mile Campground. At the verge of dusk, the two clowns showed up, spreading good humor (not the ice cream) and joy to all. Their smiling, painted faces and good nature brought happiness to young and old alike.Bob and LaVerne are still missing, but the two clowns appear to have made the RV their home and are even dressing in Bob and LaVerne's clothes. Do not be fooled, they simply have a striking resemblance to the real Bob and LaVerne. They are just as friendly and kind hearted, but be aware that they are simply real live clowns, posing as Bob and LaVerne. Please refer to the attached files for pictures of "Silly Willy" and "Fluffy." Warning: The Clowns may be considered hazaardess to your sadness, can cause severe stomach ache due to laughter, and are a flight risk around Nov. 10. If you have any leads on how two clowns were able to spread such happiness and fun throughout the campground, or you know the real Bob and LaVerne's whereabouts, please call your local BLM Law Enforcement.