The clown had 18 wheels

The summer of 1986, my wife and I were heading east when we came upon an 18 wheeler. The driver was signaling to get into my lane, so I eased down on the brake. As the truck pulled ahead we heard on our CB radio, Thank you, four wheeler We engaged in CB chat and asked him if he knew of a good place to eat. He said to follow him.

We sat together at the restaurant and asked him about his handle (CB name). It was Frankie the Clown. He said that he spends a lot of time on the road and many lonely nights in hotel rooms. He carries a clown suit with him, and sometimes during a layover, he dresses up and visits with children at the nearest hospital. A towering man with gigantic, rough hewn hands, it was hard to imagine him in costume.

Then he told us a story about why he did this. The twinkle in his soft brown eyes spoke volumes about his rewards. I was pulling a load, nervous because I was behind schedule. Just then, my engine starts to overheat so I took her to a garage. They told me to leave her while they waited for parts. So I checked into a hotel, bent out of shape because this was going to cost me big. Even though I felt like sulking alone in my room, I convinced myself to put on my clown outfit and head to the nearest hospital. When I arrived, I told the nurse in charge of the children's ward why I was there. Reluctantly, she let me do my thing. I knocked softly on the first door but got no response. I carefully opened the door and saw a little boy, about three or four years old, lying in his bed and sharing at the ceiling. I bounced over to him and said, Hi! I'm Frankie the Clown What's your name? He continued to ignore me, his small lips pursed together. Fighting the urge to move to the next room, I started my routine.

Finally, I got a smile, which kept me going. Within minutes, the boy was laughing out loud and so was I. We were having so much fun that I hardly noticed the nurse as she came in, wrinkled her brow, then left. We began to talk. He told me his name was Johnny and he was four years old. Just then, I noticed the room filling up with nurses, doctors and orderlies. Oops, what did I do? I thought. Turning to the nurse, I apologized for making such a racket.

She looked me straight in the eye and said, Frankie, you've got it all wrong. You aren't a nuisance, you're a blessing! This little boy has been with us for three weeks and no one, I mean, no one has been able to get any response from him. We apologize for interrupting, but when I told my co-workers that the little boy in room 109 was talking and laughing, they had to see it for themselves!

As I rode back to my hotel, I wasn't frustrated or mad because I was losing money. I was on top of the world. My load would be late and I still wouldn't be rich. But I had made a little boy in room 109 laugh, and I felt like a million bucks.

Its not what you do, its that you do something. Do something for Gods sake!