A Clown Prince

A beautiful summer afternoon ... at the beach ...

I wandered into one of my favorite places ... to see one of my favorite people.

Sitting in the spot ... where he always sits ... when he's not wandering around the gallery regaling his guests with audacious stories of his adventures ... ahem ... or mis-adventures ...

... he was snoozing ... taking a little siesta.

I moved slowly and quietly from the door.  It gave me a chance to observe him unawares.   I had to smile.  The years have been so kind to him.

I was sure that he had noticed me ... that he was waiting to turn the joke on me ... to yell "Boo!" ... sending us both into a gales of laughter ...

Gently I leaned in ... placing a soft kiss on his cheek ... and whispered ...

 "If I kiss the frog, will he turn into a prince?"

Only slightly startled, he turned ... and when he realized it was me ... his eyes lit up and the most glorious smile one could ever imagine covered his face ...

He genuinely likes me.  I've always known that.
I imagine his "colors" changed ... when he saw that it was me.

An hour or so was spent ... catching up ... swapping stories.  It had been so long since our last visit that most of the sharing was brand new material ... at least it was to me.  Of course, each story was tinged with his personal wit & charm ...

I remembered you were gorgeous ... but I had forgotten how you take my breath away ...

Warms my heart ... every single time.

He showed me a few of his new pieces ... things he has created ... others that have been created for him.  All were special ... just like him.

Pretty much every visitor to Glenn Eure's Ghost Fleet Gallery ... leaves with a line drawing ... signed by the artist himself. If it doesn't read "Eure so beautiful" ... it's probably not an original.

I have a collection of his work.  Line drawings ... and water colors. Boats with my name on the back ... light houses ... monuments ... pirates ... whatever he has fancied ... over the years. 

"Have I shown you my clowns?"

One has to be careful with Glenn.  You never know if it's a trick question ... if he's setting you up for one of his silly jokes ... making you smile by design.

I reminded him that I have one of his earliest clown works ... painted on a paper tablecloth ... with a brush & paints from his dollar-store watercolor box that he carried in his pocket ...  it was done over lunch at one of our favorite places ...once upon a time ... a long time ago ...

Many an OBX visitor has a special Glenn Eure memory ... from lunch ... at the restaurant with the paper tablecloths.  After ordering, he always drew ... and sometimes painted ... an original something on the table covering.  Then with a flourish ... he would rip it out ... and breeze over to a neighboring table ... with a huge smile ... and an outrageous compliment ... for some unsuspecting lady.

Asking her name ... and where the party was from ... declaring her "absolutely gorgeous" ...  he would then personally sign the piece of art ...  turning an ordinary late lunch at the beach ... into a vacation highlight with his genuineness ... and his gift. 

Glenn Eure is ... a gift ... indeed.  And his friendship is a priceless treasure.

On the day he painted me that pair of clowns ... we had been talking about life ... and happiness ... and the masks people wear ... the face they present to the world. At the time, I don't think he knew we were talking about me.

He doodled as we chatted.  First, was a traditional male clown ... white faced with a painted smile. 
Then a beautiful lady clown ... with face paint ... but her smile was radiant & real.  She was happy ... inside and out ... and it showed ... through the make-up.

A happy ... beautiful ... clown.  That's a ... pretty ... rare thing.

He cut them out ... and created a very special piece with balloons ... matted & framed ... he gave it to me just before I left the beach.   He said the lady clown ... she was me.

It has hung where I can see it ... every day ... since then.  Reminding me ... that at least one person in the world ... loves me enough ... to always see me that way.

We both smiled at the story ... and the air was full ... of all those good vibes ... that show up when people who really care about each other ... spend some time together.

He's painted a lot of clowns since then.  There's a whole area in the gallery ... devoted to his clowns.  Bright, vivid colors ... people doing what they do ... hiding behind the painted on smiles.

"I want to show you my favorite clown, MaryJane!

Follow me!"

Of course, I should have seen it coming ... but I didn't.  I was so caught up in the moment ... in my good friend ... and his stories.

We turned the corner ... into the little clown nook.  He pointed to a frame where his favorite clown could be found ... and ... surprise, surprise ... it was me!

Set up ... as usual ... caught off guard by his playful spirit ... the mirror was reflecting me.  And on any day ... that you wander into the gallery ... his favorite clown ... will be YOU!

Laughing ... I turned to give him a big ole bear hug.  And I said a silent prayer ...
please God, don't ever let him change! 

All kidding aside ... he directed my eyes to the wall behind him ... where his clown collection was on display ... saying ...

"This one's my very favorite."

There on the canvas was another HAPPY clown ... so full of life ... and joy ...  the face paint was an enhancement ... rather than a mask.  Daring to ride a unicycle ... pedalin outside of the lines ... embracing the adventure ...
of what's coming next.

Shades of orange ... & brilliant turquoise blues ... exactly the same colors ... as the very rare pieces of beach glass ... that magically showed up along my path ...

Did I say that the painting ...  took my breath away?!?

Our visit was coming to a close ...
I had other places to go ... other old friends to see ... that day.  Showing me the clowns had been a bit of an afterthought ... we had had so much catching up to do ...

The moment was almost ... overlooked.

 Stepping a little closer ... for one last glimpse ... of the delightful clown ... the whisper came ...

"Take a look at the card, MJ ... the one with the painting's name ..."

Not really sure ... if the whisper came from Glenn ...
or from my best friend, God, Creator of the Universe ...

Doesn't really matter ...

 He has had such fun ... double-teaming me ... in unexpected places lately.

Pat, Glenn's amazing wife,  always names his works ... quietly adding a little bit of her beautiful spirit to each piece.   It's always been that way. She's the wind beneath his wings, after all.  

I glanced over at the little card ... with the name on it... everyone who knows me ... knows ... that I don't believe in coincidences ... words can't even begin to describe what happened next .

Time stood still ... tears ran down my face ... the emotions were overwhelming ... for seconds ... or maybe ... it was eternity ... I was aware of nothing but ... love.

Unconditional love.  Wrapping me up ... holding me close ... filling my heart ...washing over me with the easy natural rhythm of the ocean tide ... spilling out into the room ... rippling across the universe ...

Receiving ... that's the only word that comes close ...

It's a powerful word.  I looked it up, of course ... to be sure that I fully understood the feeling ...
and the message.

It means ... to come into possession of ... to act as a receptacle for ... to assimilate through the mind or the senses ... to permit to enter ... to welcome ...

I have thought about it ... a lot ... about the frog-kissing-prince encounter ... my clown prince, if you will ... and His gift to me.

I thought about it the rest of the week ... and on the long drive home ... and in the days that have followed since I returned  to life as I know it ... today.

It's taken me a couple of weeks to share this story ... re-living the moment still overwhelms me ...

My fairy tale is still unfolding. And in the quirky fairy tale of MJ ... princes are no where to be found.  

That's ok.  Princes are totally overrated in my book.  And riding off into the sunset ... with one on a white horse ... seems so predictable ... and ordinary.

What's coming next ... is just around the corner ... waiting to catch me by surprise ... to take my breath away ... much like the unicycle riding clown ...

He knows I need a little validation ... from time to time ... when I am on the verge of a BIG breakthrough of some sort ... and this one is more than a little BIG ... it's life-changing ...
it's really important that I get this ONE ...

Del was ready for me ...last Sunday ...

Receive God's love ... then live out of that love.

That's the starting point ... of love.

Love = Life

And earlier in the week  ... the little bear ... spontaneously re-affirmed ... out loud ... once again ...
that somehow ... my journey is one big love connection ...

  

I love you T-H-I-S-S-S-S much! 

That's what the little card said.  It's the name ... Pat gave .. to Glenn's favorite clown piece.  

That's what the little bear says ... every single time ... He speaks.

www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com
(c) July 2012