Clown Tricks and Smiles in October

With our parttime singing partner Dr. Levine. Photo by dr. tiny aka Ron Anglin.

I find great joy in the work of hospital clowning, especially because of the wonderful support we receive from the hospital staff, including the doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. It's heartwarming to see the smiles on their faces when we arrive, and it's even more fulfilling when they join us in our activities, such as singing and playing music. In a previous post (link here), I shared about the time Dr. Levine joined us in singing a lullaby to the patients in the NICU.

During my recent visit to the hospital, I was delighted to encounter Dr. Levine once again, this time wearing a bowtie similar to mine. We both looked rather dapper. dr. tiny and I  took a moment to capture the memory with a photo by dr. tiny in the NICU.

On the same day, we also had the pleasure of interacting with a group of young interns who were training to become doctors. They were under the guidance of a seasoned doctor who is a big supporter of our work. This experienced doctor always encourages us to engage with her interns, and after seeing us, she insisted that we entertain her interns. I took the opportunity to amuse the interns with a card trick disguised as a vision test. The trick is designed to make the person taking the test see the card I want them to see rather than the card they expect to see. One of the interns was thrilled to pass the test, while her peers could not. As we left the floor, the interns and the doctor were sharing laughter about the trick. Dr. Tiny and I then proceeded to visit another unit.

Later in the day, we returned to the 5th floor and again encountered the same group of interns. I discreetly handed the cards from the trick to the young intern who had completed it earlier. I showed her how the trick worked, and she looked at me, saying, "Oh, so that's how you did that." She quickly attempted to return the cards to me, but dr. tiny and I insisted that she keep them for herself. She smiled at me and glanced around to ensure her colleagues hadn't noticed. Now, she can perform the "test" on them herself.