Jerry Hunsberger and I took the car out this morning to take part in the 2008 Labor Day (or Labour Day as they'd say in the UK, where they don't celebrate it) in South Plainfield, NJ.
Decked out in my Mary Derosier costume, my Leon McBryde "XL Circus Pro" ProKnows nose, Mikey Maroney necktie, John Spear shoes and new Pat Kelly wig I am ready to get behind the wheel.
"Scooter", Cashin's Crazy Comedy Car has, among it's many gadgets, gizmos and gimmicks, a steering wheel that comes off...
Fire that belches out from the front and back...
Giant underpants stuck all up underneath the hood...
And a hydraulics systems that picks it up and spins it!
But in the end I finally get it all under control and drive away only to have it all happen again at the next crowded intersection ; )
I was told that Govenor Jon Corizine was at the reviewing stand at the end of the parade route and found the whole act very amusing, making him the second NJ governor that I've cracked up at a parade.
When Shane was still a toddler we took him to the Belmar St. Patrick's Day Parade where I set up his playpen on the sidewalk and made a big sign reading "Irish Baby Petting Zoo" which struck then-Governor Jim McGreevey so funny that he stopped making out with his Homeland Security Advisor long enough to take a picture.
I was told that Govenor Jon Corizine was at the reviewing stand at the end of the parade route and found the whole act very amusing, making him the second NJ governor that I've cracked up at a parade.
When Shane was still a toddler we took him to the Belmar St. Patrick's Day Parade where I set up his playpen on the sidewalk and made a big sign reading "Irish Baby Petting Zoo" which struck then-Governor Jim McGreevey so funny that he stopped making out with his Homeland Security Advisor long enough to take a picture.
3 comments:
Sweet Ride! Speedo would be proud!
My Dad built a clown car with his brother back in the late 40's early 50's. It was a Modle 'T' Ford and he had shortened the wheel base in order to do 'wheelies.' He also had an off-set rear axle which caused the car to wobble down the street.
The car was built in the town I was born in, Wellseville, Ohio. They used to perform in all of the local parades. Their biggest faux pax came when they popped the cluch for a 'wheelie' just as the mayor stood up to wave. The mayor was launched out of the car and broke his neck. Comedy is tough in Ohio. To add insult to injury they had to pick up all the beer cans that flew out of the car with the mayor.
Pat,
I know you told me this, but who owned the car before you?
Are you driving it to the reunion?
This would be a big hit in China!
Before us, the car belonged to Ken "Speedo the Speedway Clown" Tyler (Clown College '70 or '71) who had bought in in the 60s from an old rodeo clown.
Kent used it at the graduation show but did not take it on the road with him when he toured with Ringling for a season.
After leaving the circus he toured speedways around the United States until his retirement in about 2001.
The car was at the 20th reunion in Venice but there are no plans to bring it to the 40th in Baraboo.
I think that it WOULD be a hit in China but can't imagine the logistics of shipping it over there and storing it safely between performances.
Better I work with a footlocker full of lightweight foam props than a two-ton Comedy Car full of explosives. Life is short, why complicate things?
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