I've never been able to look at party clowns the same way since reading Gene Weingarten's long, too-revealing, can't-look-away article about The Great Zucchini in the Washington Post.
Fortunately, Bill Goodwin's first-person tale of birthday party clowndom is more self-aware and hence, less harrowing. And it does a great service to parents in LA by exposing the Bouncy Castle Hegemony, whose insidious reach extends like giant air hoses across the entire city. Makes me glad we have birthday parties inside, frankly. Though we're still at the mercy of Manhattan's ruthless street fair mafia, whose tube sock, crepe, and whimsical hat-selling minions thwart our weekend driving plans.
On Being A Clown [doublethink magazine via dt reader david]
Oh Greg, thanks for the Great Zucchini link. A reporter friend sent it to me back when I was still working, and we held an entire writing forum about the thing. Great, great writing. But sadly I'd forgotten all about it until now. So thanks for bringing it back!