2018 Jul 31

5 minutes: The clowns walk up

They had balloons in their hands.

I wasn't sure I wanted to trust them, but they were distributing the balloons one by one to each person as they passed by. That seemed friendly enough to me. And the kids seemed happy and grateful to get them, running back smiling to their parents, showing off their newfound treasures.

Was this a ruse? Were they genuine? I don't know why I was suspicious of them. Too much cultural programming I guess. At least the kids who got the balloons were happy. But I kept my eyes on the clowns as they walked amongst the crowd, delivering their small tokens of joy.

Was I looking for a misstep? Some sign they weren't doing what they were pretending to do?

The day dragged on. Maybe they were innocent after all.