willy whistle.
as a child i was pertrified of clowns...when i was in kindergarten, there was a kidnapping clown in the woods trying to kidnap kids...i remember having lunch one day and all the kids ran to the window and screamed "Look at the clown!" Our teacher Mrs. Paris rushed us away to the classroom. Since then my fear of clowns has grown and grown. After the clown sighting in the woods, the town cut down all the trees in the woods. My imagination went wild. Teachers sent out a memo telling parents to look out for a clown in a blue van or a photographer in a blue van..ok. Everytime i saw a blue van, I would call my neighborhood male friend, Mike R. and scream, "Lock your windows, lock your doors, the clowns are coming!"
After this i was introduced to the movie "Poltergeist" where a possessed clown comes from under the little boy's bed and begins to strangle him. My dad also introduced me to Bozo and Willy Whistle. Bozo wasnt that bad, but Willy Whistle scared the absolute piss out of me. My dad told me that when Willy was a little boy he was running with a whistle in his mouth, tripped and it was lodged in his throat forever. When Willy spoke, his voice sounded like a whistle was caught in his throat--i think this was just a way for my dad to tell us not to run with whistles in our mouth.
In high school, my boyfriend Mike, used to torture me by luring me into my downstairs basement, say we were watching "Say Anything," and he would put on "It" or "Killer Clowns from Outer Space." He would sit on me until the movie was over--it was unbearable to watch!
At one of the Norwood parades, one of my friends paid a clown to come up to me and say "hi kate!" Another time, my dad went out and bought a clown mask one night...he knew i was home alone and he rang the doorbell--i answered the door and he said, "hi, is kate home?" In college, my friend Ray found out my phobia and i went in to my room one night and he was sitting in the dark with a clown mask on--i ran downstairs and there was a knife with ketchp hanging from the lamp. Nice friends and fam!
So, i do have a clown phobia--i share it with no one but the beloved Johnny Depp. Johnny, we'll get thru this clowny-clown world together--hand in hand.

