Happy kids crammed into Oak Harbor High School Saturday for sundaes, not reading, writing and ‘rithmatic. The school’s Parker Hall was the setting for ice cream and clowns in an afternoon focused on fun for kids and their families — a time away from TV news, chores and homes emptied of parents away at war.
Charlie the Juggling Clown entranced kids with his nimble fingers deftly tossing bowling pins, orbs and numerals while his tattered trousers fluttered.
Ubi the clown twisted balloons into flowers and animals. Bummer, a clown-in-training, assisted Ubi.
While late afternoon may not have been the ideal time for ice cream, everyone enjoyed the cool treats.
Bailee Cowan, 3, bounced in her front row seat, waving a balloon daisy. Her father’s somewhere in Saudi Arabia. “We have no idea when he might come home,” mom Kelli Cowan said. The Cowans e-mail frequently between Whidbey Island and the Arabian Peninsula.
“This is the first time Bailee has noticed that her dad’s been gone,” Cowan said. “Because she saw him leave on the plane, everytime she sees an airplane she says, ‘My Daddy’s up there.’
“It’s good the community is so willing to do so many things for kids,” Cowan added. “Things like this clown performance make the time go by.”
“These guys are funny,” Crystal Valentine, 9, laughed. Her father left in December headed for the aircraft carrier USS Truman.
Kalondra Daniels, 4, and her sisters Kiara and Tiara, 2, and older sister Tashiana, 10, all miss their dad who is somewhere in the desert. Kiara and Tiara were a bit shy when clowns came close but the twins giggled and pointed as long as a painted person wasn’t focusing on them.
Brytany Todd has changed since her dad Jeremy went to the USS Lincoln. She was only nine months old then and crawling. “Now she’s walking and talking a bit,” said her mother Lindsey Todd.
Todd is looking forward to being a family again. The Lincoln is finishing a long nine-month deployment. “As long as we keep positive attitudes and had positive support, I knew we would make it,” she said. “Brytany looks just like her daddy so I’m really excited to see Jeremy holding her,” she said as Brytany examined Ubi the clown’s red-yarn hair. The Todds will soon be flying to San Diego to see the USS Lincoln pull in to her home port.
The fun day was presented by the Navy League, Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce and Oak Harbor School District as a way to give military families a break from the stressful routine when loved ones are deployed in a time of war.
