Patch's Diary
September 13, 2006
Dear Friends and Supporters,
These are such good times for us. It so appears to me that after so many years of efforts, that we (and I) are reaping a lifetime in peace, justice and care. I know I can list gig highlights of our work and I want you to know that through mail, phone and fax I have a contact with the world never dreamed of. People all over the world ― literally ― tell me how our work has influenced who they are and what they do. They show they are hungry to be more fun, loving people and use their lives in care of others and the planet. Such outpourings feed my delight and longevity (36 years) of this project. I also get lots of hope, connecting to people and projects all over the world doing efforts of care. Please never feel alone; there are millions of us, living in every country.
This year include, in March, our first alternative spring break college clown trips. Our 7-person teen team (including John’s daughter, Terra, and my son, Lars, and their friends) who were then college freshmen, gathered enough students (almost 20) to fill back-to-back, week-long trips to Lima, Peru. Everyone loved it. The students glowed for its value to them. We did 3 events each day. ON highlight for us all was a first visit to a juvenile woman’s prison. The girls (age 11-17) were not criminals, simply victims of poverty. They performed for us, tons of love. We so want to get involved with them, that we’ve been on multiple visits since. Our clown brothers and sisters of Peru, Bolaroja, were our hosts and playmates.
I’m still traveling most of the time all over the world, 275 days each year, many one-night stands, each with special people and moments. In March, I spent an evening with David Hilfiker, MD, who works tirelessly for the poor in D.C., living at Joseph’s House, a house for men dying of AIDS. We’ve followed each other’s service for decades. (Try his Healing the Wounds). One wonderful thing: this spring Paige Kiernan left the BigSpeak Agency to only handle me and other Gesundheit! speakers (John Glick, MD; Susan Parenti, PhD; Bowen White, MD). She is radiantly enthusiastic and I’m so glad to have her take care of me and the jobs.
In April, Susan and I did the Council on World Affairs annual week in Boulder, Colorado, again loving the stimulation and connecting we get there. We spoke one night at the Naropa Institute. We met Medea Benjamin, who was part of founding the Global Exchange and the Code Pink. Wow. What a force. I quickly signed on for the 24-hour Mother’s Day Peace Vigil in front of the White House. Heidi made me a beautiful floral pink dress, fish net hose, wig, hat and feather boa. Susan made me pink shoes. It has been a while since I’d done a 24-hour vigil in front of the White House. I was rejuvenated in many ways. I love being in the company of peace makers.
In May I went to Italy to train clowns and was thrilled to go with a previous friend, Isabella and Christina, my fabulous Italian translator, to visit Niki de St. Phalle’s Tarot Garden, an awesome mosaic paradise. Then I met my sons, Lars (19) and Zag (30) in Amsterdam for 3 days of birthday celebrations, since all of our birthdays are in one week. I’m so happy they love to work and play with me. Zag has now been on 11 clown trips with film crews to capture loving around the world for a film project that I want to teach: the love of all people. The footage is amazing. Last month (August), John, Bowen, Susan and I were filmed for 6 hours speaking about loving to find a language for the films. I had never spent one full day speaking of intelligence and love, it was electrifying.
From Holland, I went to Lichtenstein to meet with many important people in their government and health care systems to write a dialogue around forging new directions for delivering care. (Wow, a country with only 30,000 pp ― imagine the possibilities!) I flew on to Austria to meet at the annual meeting of the Hospital Administrator of Austria and then VAMED, a large hospital building corporation, where we continue our dialogue with them about creating our style of hospital there and also in Roumania and Indonesia. I flew right from there to Ecuador to meet 11 clowns (our teen team, John, my brother Wildman, and Zag), and countless Ecuadorian clowns and medical students and 6 previous clown friends for 9 days in Guayaquil and Quito. A dream: with so many love highlights. See John’s note about visiting a family who just had had one child die of cancer and 2 days later another was dying. Clown and love magic was never more department and sweet. We put out feelers for some embedded project.
I was home a day and went to Gesundheit! to teach 1 week for the School for Designing a Society’s month-long session there. Every year the students get better. I’m so thrilled to be a part of it. A highlight was that my favorite writer on education, Nel Noddings (Caring; Happiness and Education; Critical Lessons, etc.), was there with her husband. Hey charged me up so much. What a blessing to be with intelligence and connect it to social change. There was another wild clown visit to a local VA Hospital.
Soon after, Lars and I return for our Eleventh Year at camp Winnarainbow and, thrill of thrills, so did John and Susan, who loved it. The campers included Lily (John’s niece), Maria’s (of Russia) 2 younger children Anya and Assia, and Isabella’s 2 children, Francesca and Andréa. So its friends and friends, for 2 weeks of bliss in performance and love. Many, charged by the January trip, want to build in El Salvador again. I love what I learn from these 160 7-14 year olds.
Right after returning home, Lars and I go to West Virginia for our annual 10 days, with John and teen team, and Board of Directors, Susan, to see the beautiful efforts on the land, and discuss our future. Ed Renner, our accountant, brings his granddaughter to all of our delight. There was so much to report, so much hope. Paula Murphy presented her innovative chiropractic practice and Paul Glover, founder of Ithaca Health Fund and Ithaca Dollar, gave his visions for breaking with insurance companies. A tickle was that John Stang, MD, of Ohio State University Medical School joined the board. We are so solid. It is there to build.
I was home long enough to clean my clothes before 23 of us went to Iquitos, Peru, to begin long-term work there. We were so taken by it last year that we have decided to start a project to address the child sexual slavery by affecting the infrastructure involving 16,000 families in nightmarish circumstances. John Glick (see his essay about the trip), Dave Sellers (our architect), Zappo (Camp Winnarainbow), and Peruvian friends visited in April to meet with locals, find a point person ― the glorious Lucia, to coordinate the first efforts. John speaks in his essay of painting murals and houses (see the photos at the link above). I want to say I painted one house over the course of a week which was the longest time I’d ever been so close to horrendous poverty with faces on it. They live literally in sewage with no water. They drink sewage water. The family had 6 daughters and their entire possessions were 2 hammocks and an old cooking pot. Each day they welcomed me in their house ― dark, grey, smelly, stark ― and yet I saw and felt a grace I’ve rarely seen in children from the U.S. They were frequently helpful, and never projected to me a state of poverty. I felt equality and grace. I feel they have me no sense of missing anything. There is no ADD, ADHD, No sense of boredom or complaining. I felt I was with neighbors. Not all the families on the 5-block street we painted were this way. I’m so glad mine was; what a vision of the world. The father earns $1.50 a day. All who went were changed.
The rest of August I spent with 3,000 Japanese women who work for Miki Corporation for 3 days, then went to Denmark for 5 cities for workshops and to perturb the medical community with vision. On to Germany to celebrate the 10th anniversary of a hospital clown troupe of friends.
And in all this ecstatic living in revolution where is our hospital? It’s nearer. I live every day with good possibilities, great leads. Promises hover that could do it all. Still the most important use of me is to build our model hospital. The team we’ve gathered is breathtaking. Give us a hospital. I hope if you like what we do that you will donate. All sums serve. I hope you will study our world situation and work to make governments that serve people and nature, not wealth. Our government is lying and murderous and wouldn’t know democracy if it could spell it. They should be in jail. We need a massive love revolution of people who decide to love all people, everywhere -even our government (just don’t let them govern). At least decide to love life and stop complaining and work … for peace, justice and care for all people.
I love you.
In peace,
Patch
