Miles of smiles for Colley clowns

Staff

Published Thursday, September 28, 2000

Features Editor

Sept. 27, 2000 10 PM

"Going to the extra mile to make people smile" is the best way to describe Hazel Golden and Anner Brooks.

The two are members of the Merry Hearts clown troop which is sponsored by the Colley Senior Complex. For their commitment and dedication to a merry heart, they were awarded the Outstanding Service Award by their troop at the Merry Hearts first anniversary celebration last week.

Hassie Green, president of the Merry Hearts, said, even though Golden and Brooks are the most "golden" members of the troop, they are the most committed.

"Hazel and Anner have attended every activity that the Merry Hearts have participated in since we organized a year ago," she said. "They have never even missed a meeting of the Merry Hearts. And, not only are they there for everything, they are there on time. I can truly say that Hazel and Anner go the extra mile and they are very deserving of this award."

Hazel Golden said she's not sure that she has gone any farther in making people smile than the other clowns in her troop, but she does make a determined effort to put on her clown suit every chance she gets.

"It makes me feel good to see other people smile," she said. "And, when you put on a clown get-up, people are going to smile and laugh at you."

Smiles are contagious, Golden said. If you give away one, you get one, two or more in return.

"I was real proud of the award because they said it was for going the extra mile and, if I've done that, maybe I've made more people smile than was expected of me," she said. "It's easy to smile so going the extra mile to make someone smile is not hard to do."

Anner Brooks agreed that it's not hard to bring a smile to the face of others.

"I just put on that suit, paint up my face and off I go," she said. "When people see me, I guess the sight of me tickles them because they always smile."

Brooks said the fun of being a clown is seeing the pleasure it brings to others.

"Sometimes you have to make an effort to get all dressed up and painted up but, when you see those smiles, it's all worthwhile.

Both clowns got "talked into" being a clown and neither of them regrets putting on a happy face.

"Oh, we get to do a lot of things and go a lot of places and we have a real good time," Brooks said. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, especially the parades. I do like parades."

For Golden and Brooks, the touch of a child's hand is what makes being a clown so special.

"When we went to Montgomery for the Head Start Day celebration, there were hundreds of children there," Golden said. "Every one of them wanted to touch you and hold your hand. When we were marching up to the capitol, I had about a dozen of them trying to hold on to my hands and my arms. It was a happy time."

For Golden and Brooks, happy times always come at the end of the extra mile and they make the journey "a real joy."  

 

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