Hello, reader. How’s it going? Do you like clowns? When I see a clown, I back up. I’m not afraid of spiders, snakes, or scorpions– actually I worship those animals. But I am scared of clowns. Yet Ming and I have a new game, which is the clown game.
listy
This is the clown game: You have a friend or lover or family member or what have you. You are in the world together, outside or in your bed… For five minutes, you take turns pointing at things and identifying them wrong.
This makes me giggle. I love this game, which makes sense because I love wrongness. Error is something I worship as well (bhranti rupena).
My mom used to tell me a story of my first birthday party; someone gave me a blue, shiny piggy bank. I went around to my relatives who attended the party, offering them the piggy bank so they would put coins in.
Of course I didn’t understand what coins were, the significance. Well, I knew they were cold and solid, and they could slide into my piggy bank. The relatives saw me as begging for money, but I didn’t know what money was yet. For me it was a game which made the relatives laugh.
power
You know how kids will run at the birds on the beach, to make the birds scatter. They are learning how they can affect the world. How do we make things happen? Where is our power?
My mom told me that when I was age one, I would ask, “What’s that?” over and over, so the adult would identify, “That’s the carpet. That’s a table– that’s a light.” Over and over, I would point at an object and ask, “What’s that?” to hear my relative tell me the names for things.
To hear their voice, and have a call and response. I could initiate a call and get a response.
So it makes sense I love this clown game, only now I want to say and hear the wrong word. I’ve come full circle.
questions for discussion
What do you think of clowns?
Did you have a first birthday party?
Do you know any stories?
Do you feel your baby and toddler selves as a part of who you are still, today?
Who were you then?
Who are you now?
How do you feel about truth?
What makes you giggle?
Will you play this clown game with me?
