It was just ridiculous enough to be
true. Then again, she could be making the whole thing up. It was just so hard
to imagine Diane’s father, the respectable banker who never left the house
without a suit and tie, actually do what she said he does.
Ordinarily,
he seems so stuffy and completely focused on business. He is very polite, but
will only speak to you when necessary. And now that I am thinking about it, I don’t
think I have ever seen him smile.
I have seen
how he is in his own home, while visiting Diane; he is just the same. He doesn’t
seem to know how to kick back and relax, or have fun. I didn’t think the word “fun”
was even in his vocabulary.
But boy,
every time I think about this unfamiliar side of her dad, it brings a smile to
my face. She told me I had to keep it a secret. He doesn’t want anyone making a
big deal about it. But it is a big deal!
Every
Saturday morning, this man who appears to not have a silly bone in his body, trades
his stuffy suit and tie for the most colorful clown suit I have ever seen (we
snuck into his closet one day so she could show it to me). Then he puts on a wig
and paints his face with a layer of happy-face makeup. The thought of it all makes
me want to laugh out loud. I would just love to see him all dressed up like
that one day.
Once he has
completed his transformation, he gets in his car and drives over to the
hospital. You see, every Saturday, Diane’s dad visits the pediatric ward there.
He spends his entire Saturday going from room to room telling jokes, performing
magic tricks and singing silly songs; doing whatever it takes to put a smile on
the faces of those ailing little boys and girls. He will even take the time to sit
and cry with them when their day just doesn’t feel worthy of a smile.
I will never
look at him the same again. In fact, I will never judge anyone by their outward
appearance again. Because now, when I look at someone I don’t know, or even
while looking at someone I think I know very well, I will think about the
surprisingly wonderful silly heart that was hiding under a proper stuffy suit,
and I will remember that there is so much we don’t know about a person that is
hidden under their outer shell.
