I've heard a few times in my life that the one thing that people fear most in this world is public speaking. Some people would rather face death than to speak in front of a crowd. It is intimidating, for sure, but for me public speaking is not that big of a deal. However, I have my own fears - most infamous is my fear of clowns. I don't know when it started because I don't recall ever encountering clowns at a young age. But when I went into high school then on to college the fear revealed itself to those around me. My roommates in college played a couple horrible pranks on me... involving full clown outfits and a lot of chasing. I get chills just thinking about it.
Well, I think I'm getting over my fear. This week I don't have to work because of a break between semesters so I've been taking some Spanish classes and traveling around Lima a bit. This morning I got on a combi to go to my Spanish classes. Everything was as normal as it could be - a few people sleeping, the cobrador (the guy who recruits people to get on the buses) yelling at everyone "Pesaje. Pesaje por favor. Pesaje en la mano!!!!", and me trying to hold on for dear life as we weave in and out of traffic. I usually try not to make eye contact with anyone, but about 5 minutes after I got on I heard a very loud voice enter the bus. From what I could hear there was a man telling everyone to get ready for the show. After I heard that I looked up to see what was happening, and I see a startling sight - a clown. Not just any clown... a Peruvian, dirt-poor clown just tryin' to make a living entertaining Lima's bus travelers one combi at a time. I immediately started sweating and breathing heavier. I stayed calm though, I said to myself, "this is no time to panic because where can I go?... I'm stuck in this crowded bus."
So I listened and watched the so called "entertainment". The only thing he did was tell a story about his life and how he became to be a clown. I didn't get all the facts simply because I was constantly thinking of ways to kill him (or myself) if he came near me. However, when he finished his speech he started walking around to take donations. As he came closer to me alot of things started going through my head - my family, my friends, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Grandma's house. I came face to face with the monster, looked him in the eye as he said to me, "Por favor joven." simply means, Please young man. He stuck out his hand and I reached into my pocket for anything I could find. I had a few cents in there that I gave him. I put it in his hand and he reached up to my chest, I stopped breathing, and he put something in my shirt pocket. He said thank you and kept walking. I reached into my pocket to see what he put there - a toffee candy. Delicious.
My first face to face encounter with a real clown was kind of anti-climactic. There was no blood shed, no balloon animals in inappropriate places, and no spine-tingling laughs. He smelled a little, but that's because he is a poor Peruvian guy just trying to make a living. He didn't try to attack me, actually, he gave me a delicious toffee candy - it reminded me of when I was a young kid at my grandparent's house. My grandpa always had toffee candies in the basement that I couldn't stop eating.
Anyway, we finally arrived at my stop, Avenida Benavides. The clown thanked the crowd and got off the bus. I followed him and tried to act like I was afraid of him... He could probably smell my fear. In my haste I crossed the street quickly and then heard a voice yell, "Cuidado Joven!", I looked up and saw a taxi driving about one foot in front of me. I quickly jumped out of the way to miss the passing taxi. I turned around to see who warned me of the near-death accident... the clown was simply looking at me with a bright, toothless smile giving me a thumbs-up. I gave him a thumbs-up in return as well as a sincere Gracias.
I walked away just laughing at myself. Do your thing, clown, do your thing. The end.
I couldn't get a direct picture of the clown for fear of retaliation, but here are some pix of the guy who saved my life.... it is difficult to see him, but he is the one with the yellow hair and the red visor.
-BJM
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