The Fool

She had blonde hair -- shaved on the sides and back and tied in short, court-jester clumps on top. She wore neon-colored tights and a top that matched, tie-died in orange, chartreuse and pink. A smile was on her face, extending from ear to ear.

She stood in front of a growing crowd in the center of a circular plaza. A big boom box blared at her feet. While the audience waited, she leaned over and cranked up the volume. She looked up sheepishly at the expectant faces looking back at her.

And now a little warm-up, she said. The audience remained quiet, still waiting.

Her first act was jumping rope. The rope matched the colors of her clothes and hung down behind her as she stepped onto a pedestal.

Now for some workout jumping rope, she said. The audience remained quiet.

The music got loud and the she swung the rope in a circle beside her, catching the rhythm of the song and getting herself psyched up. After a measure or two, she began to jump standard rope. The crowd remained silent, waiting for something worth watching.

Then she began with the double jumps, but she tripped on the rope and had to try again. She tripped again, but she kept on trying, and she kept on smiling, and she started cracking jokes. The crowd was silent. So she switched to skipping around the plaza for a change of pace. The music continued, but the rope kept hitting the back of her feet.

With the crowd still silent, she chuckled and looked around, "Well it's a free country, folks! You don't have to stay."

I decided it was time to leave.

...

An hour or more later, I wandered back. The crowd was larger and cheering a bit. With her music still blaring, she stood in the center standing on a board balanced on a ball juggling three torches. But the torches kept falling, and she stumbled off the board.

Still, her smile was relentless, and she cracked good jokes making fun of herself until at last her show was over. The clapping was sparse at best, and the crowd began to walk away. Only a few children, mostly toddlers with mothers encouraging them from behind, walked up to shake her hand and drop some coins in her hat.

As the children and the crowd walked away, I walked down to the plaza and dropped two dollars in her hat. Her smile, at least, was worth that much.

You've got guts, I said.

Or I am a fool!

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