[Nettie Belle]

That is a VERY nice story, Grandpa. You are truly a blessing to that woman, and I'm sure you made a highlight in her day.

It reminds me of one time when I was at the hospital visiting patients. I didn't just visit the kids, I visited anyone who wanted me to come in.

When I checked at the nurses' station, they informed me that one of the patients' had just lost his wife this particular day, and she was in the nursing home and he was in the hospital. When I got to his room, he was just staring out the window. I knocked on the door, and asked if he would like company. He said yes, so I went in there, and sat down with him. He smiled a little bit, but it was not my mission to make him LAUGH ... he just wanted to talk. He had been married to his wife for 66 years. He said they had always been there for each other, and he was feeling sad that he was not with her when she died.

He told me all about their lives together, from the time they met, through their marriage, and about their kids, etc. I sat with him for over an hour, mostly listening. He repeated over and over how he felt so bad that he wasn't with her.

I told him that sometimes it's best just to remember people as they were when they were full of life, and that is how he will remember her. He said he knew this would eventually happen but he was hoping he would go before her, because he didn't know how he was going to get along without her. I told him that she was his angel wife now, and it was time to let her take care of him, so he could get out of the hospital. When I said that, he looked at me and said she had ALWAYS been his angel wife, but now she was going to watch over him from heaven. He said he couldn't wait to get to heaven now so he could be reunited with her.

Anyway, we really had a nice talk. He showed me pictures, and told me so many stories. At one point, I wondered if he even realized I had blue hair and polka dots all over, but when I could tell he was getting tired, I told him I was so sorry about his wife, and how much I enjoyed talking to him. He said, "I don't think you realize how much I've enjoyed talking to YOU ... hey, do you know any magic tricks?" I showed him something simple (I don't remember what it was now) and he laughed and when I got ready to leave, he thanked me again for coming in. At one point in our conversation, I told him that I worked there at the hospital, and he said he would like to see what I look like as a regular person, so I told him I would come back the next day. Which I did. I visited him every day he was in the hospital. One of the things he told me was that he knew he had borrowed his wife from God and it was time to return her back to him.

About a month later, I read in the paper that he passed away He is one of the few people I've known who I was happy when they died. He wanted to be reunited with his wife of 66 years so much, I think he must have truly died of a broken heart.

Sometimes clowns are just for comfort; not necessarily for snicks and giggles. Clowns tend to be "people people" and that's one way we can make others smile.