Old clowns never die...do they?

From www.flickr.com

This morning I got a call that Walt died. I only got a chance to meet Walt twice, when I visited his and Kaye's home. In his eighties and bent over with crippling ailments, Walt was plagued with pain. But his sense of humor was still dry as driftwood.

Walt was an aeronautical electronics wizard during the cold war. He owned a company with branches all over the world, and he and Kaye were globe trotters as he checked up on his technicians. He lived an amazing life.

In addition, Walt was a clown for the Shriners. Kaye described one clown outfit like this: ballooning silk trousers, golden slippers with toes that curled all the way back, a gaudy vest with a naked torso and a bright gemstone in his bellybutton! A favorite stunt was to walk in the parade with a piece of carpet, stopping occasionally to lay it down, sweep around it, and then gleefully sweep the dirt under the carpet.

Walt and Kaye were comedians to themselves to ease the pain of old age. Their banter was wry and self effacing, and I think they kept themselves going by poking fun at their creaking predicament. As a couple, they were unique. May God receive Walt into his arms of mercy.

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