I Love Kids...

I'm a professional hopscotch maker, ring tosser, juggler, hula hoop hander, bean bag thrower, and Duck Duck Donalder! I love my job!

Tonight was another Halloween party night and was really fun. We had one serious problem, but everything worked out, as usual, in the end, thank goodness. I won't talk about the serious problem, but here's a different story.

During the first parade tonight, I got a crier. I don't think I've ever had a kid who was actually scared of any part of the parade, but as the villains came closer, a little girl near me in a stroller burst into tears, scared out of her mind. I heard her mom trying to console her and finally decided maybe I could help.

So I turned to her and began talking to her so her mom could enjoy the parade with the other kids. I explained that I was friends with the villains and they were actually really nice. They just pretended to be mean in parades, but I assured her Mickey Mouse would never hire anyone who was actually mean. Then I talked to her about how I like to go backstage and dance with them and laughed at them, telling her they were just being silly. Because really, watching Frollo and Cruella dance their weird rendition of the Boo To You song is really silly. And the guys dressed in black and orange playing the guitars? How is that supposed to be scary!? Geez, they're not very good at being bad guys...

I got the girl to stop crying nearly immediately, but she still wasn't taking her eyes off of the hyenas, still pretty scared. So then I started to talk to her about candy. I told her to look for Pluto because Pluto meant the beginning of the candy! Yes, during the Mickey's Halloween parade they hand out candy at the end! So I told her to get her bag ready and she grinned when she finally saw Pluto. It was the cutest thing ever and the mom thanked me at the end. I even got her to laugh with me at how silly the villains looked when they were pretending to be mean.

It's funny because the part of the parade that still freaks me out to this day is the gravediggers. They scare the living snot out of me with their shovels. One came really close to my head during a previous parade as I was watching a guest... they just were literally right there by my face and I still haven't gotten over it. I also am a little freaked by the hyenas because, again, I was distracted by a guest and I turned to go back to my position and the hyena's head was literally right there. I wonder how poor Simba felt!

Anyway, I love my job! I love that every day gets to begin and end with characters, shows, fireworks, parades, or all of the above! I complain sometimes and get pretty bummed but the fact is, over all, I love it!