Olé!

Last night Daddy, Mommy, Heather, and I went to Torrero's for dinner. I had some of Mommy's rice, and it was really yummy! Eating off a fork was hard though; I prefer a spoon or my hands. But the best part came after dinner - a clown wandered into the restaurant! Everyone was trying really hard not to make eye contact with him. But this guy was good! He parked himself between our table and another one and proceeded to make balloon animals. He made a tiger for a boy at the other table, then a bear for the kid's sister. Daddy doesn't like clowns, and the waiters must have sensed it and been sadistic because they wouldn't bring us the check! Daddy had to go up and ask for it. "Clown Willie" (that's his street name) was very disappointed that we were leaving without me getting anything, but the girl gave me her pink bear! He told me not to chew on it because it could pop and I could choke. Silly clown! I'm a baby! That's what I do! So, I immediately put it in my mouth. If we'd been there longer, Mommy would've requested a silly hat for me. The bear now lives on Mommy's desk, where I can't chew on it.

Here's a story about Clown Willie from the Burlington Times-News:

All smiles here: It's Clown Willie who generates a lot of them.

Byline: Keren Rivas

Mar. 12, 2006--If you've attended any of the events at the Burlington City Park during the past three years, you've probably met Willie.

It is hard to miss him with the white hat, the colorful striped outfit and the big red shoes he usually wears. No, he is not an extravagant dresser, Willie is a clown.

Clown Willie was born in 1953 in a Harnett County house that had no electricity or running water. His given name is William Tart, but for the past six years, most people he's met through his line of work only know him as Clown Willie.

Though he enjoys his profession very much, becoming an entertainer -- particularly this late in his life -- was not something Tart had planned to do. It just kind of fell on his lap.

About six years ago, Tart was sitting in the cafeteria at University Mall in Chapel Hill, when the mall manager approached him and offered him a job as Santa Claus. The guy the mall had hired for the job suffered appendicitis and had to be taken to the hospital at the last minute, the manager told him.

At the time, Tart had not cut his beard in 25 years, so it was long and white as snow. Though his only experience as Santa had been at family gatherings, Tart didn't give the offer a second thought and accepted the job. Little did he know that this sim ple act was going to change his life.

"I absolutely loved it," Tart, 62, says. "I fell in love with it." But after finishing the Santa gig, he started feeling low. He had dis covered he enjoyed making children laugh but didn't know what type of job would allow him to do that.

Then, one night, he watched "Patch Adams" on TV, and everything fell into place.

The movie is about Adams, an aspiring doctor played by Robin Williams, who enjoys helping others using unorthodox methods like humor and laughter. In one particu lar scene, Adams goes to a children's ward wearing a red nose (actually, an ear syringe), to which the children respond with giggles and laughs.

"I was very inspired by it," Tart recalls. "That very same night I said, 'That's it. I'm going to become a clown.'" He immediately started looking for resources in the area. He was living in Chapel Hill then. He found out that Wake Technical Community College was offering a 10-week class on clowning. His friends didn't know if this was a good idea, but Tart enrolled in the class anyway.

One Tuesday in April of 2000, Tart finished the course. The following Saturday, he attended his first birthday party as a clown. Since then, it's been non-stop for him.

"I've hardly ever had a weekend off since then," Tart says. "I just jumped right in with both feet." Prior to becoming a clown, Tart sold insurance and did a variety of different jobs for about three years. Before that, he operated a house cleaning company for 23 years.

Tart's life is more exciting now than it has ever been. He's been to all the home baseball games at the Durham ball stadium, all 80 of them, he says. He has been to more birthday parties, baby showers, events and fairs than he can remember.

"My life is an adventure, every day is different," Tart says. As a clown, he adds, "you always meet new kids that are just thrilled to see you. Kids just energize you." For somebody like Tart, who has no children of his own, his job is the only way he can get that interaction.

Since he moved to Mebane almost three years ago, Willie has become a fixture at all Burlington City Park events, including the Carousel Festival, the Halloween and the Christmas celebrations. The city hires Willie for these events because it doesn't allow solicitors in the park area.

The money he makes as a clown is not much, but it's at least enough to supplement his social security check. His major work expense is the balloons he uses to make balloon figures. Last year alone, Willie ordered 42,000 balloons.

Willie mostly does one-balloon figures like alligators, dogs, bears, swords and hats. He usually charges $1 per figure.

For more complicated figures, like a nine-balloon dragon, a motorcycle with its rider or the starship Enterprise, Willie charges a little bit more. He said his creations are "limited by the imagination" only.

But despite his artistry, in the world of clowns, Willie is still considered an amateur. He will remain that way unless he publishes a book or creates his own original designs, something that he says is pretty hard to do considering that clowns have been around since the 1890s.

But that's OK. What matters most for Tart is that children and adults continue enjoying his shows.

"I am going to be clown until I die," he says. "As long as I can walk and talk, I'm never going to retire."