If a Clown by Stephen Dunn

If a clown came out of the woods,
a standard-looking clown with oversized
polka-dot clothes, floppy shoes,
a red, bulbous nose, and you saw him
on the edge of your property,
there’d be nothing funny about that,
would there? A bear might be preferable,
especially if black and berry-driven.
And if this clown began waving his hands
with those big white gloves
that clowns wear, and you realized
he wanted your attention, had something
apparently urgent to tell you,
would you pivot and run from him,
or stay put, as my friend did, who seemed
to understand here was a clown
who didn’t know where he was,
a clown without a context?
What could be sadder, my friend thought,
than a clown in need of a context?
If then the clown said to you
that he was on his way to a kid’s
birthday party, his car had broken down,
and he needed a ride, would you give
him one? Or would the connection
between the comic and the appalling,
as it pertained to clowns, be suddenly so clear
that you’d be paralyzed by it?
And if you were the clown, and my friend
hesitated, as he did, would you make
a sad face, and with an enormous finger
wipe away an imaginary tear? How far
would you trust your art? I can tell you
it worked. Most of the guests had gone
when my friend and the clown drove up,
and the family was angry. But the clown
twisted a balloon into the shape of a bird
and gave it to the kid, who smiled,
let it rise to the ceiling. If you were the kid,
the birthday boy, what from then on
would be your relationship with disappointment?
With joy? Whom would you blame or extoll?

(Sometimes, good stuff still comes via email. Thanks, Rosecrans.)

When we were pulling together gifts for the Mighty Summit, we set a few aside to give away. Here’s what’s up for grabs today:

Large Natural Zip Top Canvas Tote Bag by Lands End

I had no idea how useful these were until I had one. Sturdy, preppy delicious, and just the right size for a weekend away. Yours will not say “Sarah” on the front, but it will have the same trim.

Tieks by Gavrieli

I bought a pair of these genius travel shoes a while back, and they’re one of my favorite things. Tieks fold in half so you can stuff them in your purse, and the quality is amazing. They come in all sorts of candy colors and metallics — plus they pack flat and slip off easily when you’re heading through airport security. The winner gets to choose any pair for $135 and under.

Bamboo Dahlia Necklace By Feisty Elle

You know that girl who always looks so cool, and you can never pinpoint what it is about her? Good jewelry. Dahlias are my favorite flower, and designer Leslie Yang made a silver version of this necklace for Summit attendees.

Neoprene Laptop Case from Mixed Bag

Now you can drop your laptop more stylishly than before.

Tattly Temporary Tattoos

Tattly makes temporary tattoos that don’t suck. We’ve talked about these before, and they’ve come out with a few new designs since. Instant toughness boost for the nerd corps.

Typekit Subscription

A one-year subscription to Typekit, the service that lets you use a variety of fonts on your site without having to serve them as images. Have you noticed the Web has been looking prettier lately? Thank these guys.

The Happiness Project

Gretchen Rubin was one of our Mighty Summit attendees this year, and she brought along her New York Times Bestselling book, which is about her year-long experiment in making her life happier. I love this idea, and this book.

The Quintet Necklace by Lemonade Handmade

I’ve mentioned this necklace before, we give one to each of the attendees to symbolize the five Life List goals they hope to accomplish in the coming year. I love the necklace for its simplicity, and I like the idea of five golden rings being little commitments to yourself. I wear mine most days until I’ve crossed everything off for the year.

And that’s it for today. Pretty good, huh? To enter please leave a comment about something on your Life List, contest closes next Thursday night at midnight PST. Helen Jane and Laura at The Queso are doing giveaways as well, so head over there for two more chances to win.

Now for the fine print: Please only leave one comment here, because it’s the nice thing to do, and also because multiple entries on Mighty Girl will be disqualified. I’ll use random.org to select the winner, and I’ll announce who won at the top of this post and in a separate post next Friday. Offer eligible only to U.S. and Canada.

“Last week Krandy Kraus broke a date with Jackie Nixon to go out with Joanne Koenig…. and after that he aske dher to go to the Prom……… Must be LOVE!!!!!!”

Found in a memory album for sale at the Alameda Flea Market.

This is part of my Life List project to Taste 1,000 fruits. I’m inching my way toward 100.

This year, my sister Raina started a little farm in Sonoma County and we visited this weekend. There wasn’t enough room in the fridge for all the veggies she sent home with me, so I’ve been putting up sauces and soups and eating too much salad for the last few days.

That photo up top is a lemon cucumber, one about as big as a man’s fist. It’s pretty, but apparently too old to be delicious. You want ones that are whiter and more the size of an apricot. I’m not generally a fan of cucumbers, but these are so crisp and light, not nearly as dense or tough as the supermarket variety. They taste like slightly savory cucumber water.

My sister planted Huckleberries out of curiosity, having never tried them. They have a similar consistency to blueberries, but they’re juicier, tart, and refreshing.

Raina described them as tasting like cucumbers to her, and these did have that aftertaste. I liked the flavor, but there was a richness to it. I didn’t really want more than one. Does anyone know how to prepare these in a way that makes them more appealing? I bet they’d make amazing jam.

Unicorn Coat Hook
Honey, will you grab my coat? The magical one?