When Dads Cry...

My clown partner and I walk into a 16 year old's room. He had been recommended to us by his doctors and his mother had practically begged us to come visit him a few minutes earlier. He's a returning patient, he overcame leukemia 12 years ago and now he is muted by strange soars in his mouth and down his throat. The parents look tired but they front good spirits. The dad is a tough looking construction worker. He has a big red beard, huge hands, tattoos, you know, Tasmanian Devil / snake and dagger style and a rocker t-shirt. We decide to play a song for him. I play dumb and everyone is loves it. My partner gets frustrated and discouraged and they keep loving it. My partner starts "You are my sunshine" on her ukulele and I try to join in on my harmonica but always with the wrong timing. My partner gets mad, I play dumb and the family is laughing harder and harder. At a crescendo of laughs we finally get it going. My partner holds the rhythm and sings while I blow on my harmonica. I have to admit that we play this song often and we are getting pretty damn good at it. A verse later, I notice the dad out of the corner of my eye. He is taking off his glasses and wiping his tears. I don't want to draw attention to it but it's such a powerful sight that it's hard to ignore. I don't know if it was the beauty of the song, the lyrics, the kid laughing and then amazed at the idiots' talent yet it undoubtedly affected him strongly. My partner also discretely notices. What a strong moment. I understand that these families are extremely stressed and in vulnerable positions, it feels nice to be the catalyst to let these emotions surface. On a personal level: I love doing good by acting stupid. I will try to further this art by adding a layer to this play. My objective would be to keep playing dumb as I do so well but to let the patient/public in on it. I am not dumb so by playing dumb yet letting the patient/public in on it and not my partner, who gets mad and/or discouraged, it adds some truth and layers to the game. We'll see how I materialize this.