Patch's Diary
September 2003
Hello, friends.
I feel it's time to write my "What I Did This Summer" essay. How I wish you could see it all through my eyes and ears, hundreds, probably thousands of human encounters. Beautiful people, caring, inquiring, wanting a world where everyone matters. Countless phone calls and letters from 30 countries, of projects, efforts—students hungry for a meaningful life or people hurt by systems that don't care.
A shining presence the whole summer was my younger son Lars, now 16, who has blossomed this year into a compassionate, funny, young adult who cares about our future and who just last night asked me to get him Greg Palast's book "The Best Democracy That Monday Can Buy," and Noam Chomsky's "9-11," so that he can engage in more intelligent political discussions at school. He and his friends, John and Taylor, asked me to take them clowning at the Smithsonian and Washington Monument in May for 3 hours and we were so naughty that we were almost arrested. I am so lucky to have so much of Lars in my life.
In June, Susan and I went for two engagements in Germany. The first was with old friends Beate and Walther Lechler in Bad Herrenalb for their Pentecost gathering. Then to Frankfurt, for our second engagement with the Frankfurter Ring. We met our Austrian friends, Bernhard and Pascal, who are proposing ideas for us to find funds to create the hospital. I remain forever perplexed as to why we have not found funding since health care delivery is collapsing all over the world and we remain a model addressing all the problems at 5% of the cost.
Susan and one of our physicians (also our treasurer), Jeptha Davenport, have come on board with me to intensify our efforts. I beg you to help us. There are no other models addressing comprehensively the problem of care delivery in this country. It is stupid that we are not built. If we were built, it would change the future of medicine. Thousands of doctors and nurses are ready to work full time for $3,000/year salary.
The next week Susan, Lars, and I went to Boston to perform "The Joy of Caring" for the first Conference on Hope put on by Hope Magazine. This was a great audience of workers for a better world. As always, we were inspired by our friends, Frankie Lappé and Judy Wicks, who work miracles on our planet. That week, I spent two days in Mexico City doing workshops. Susan and I have been doing our new workshop, "What is Your Love Strategy?," which calls for all people to consider creating a personal strategy for active loving in every waking moment.
People love the workshop. I came home and again met with Angelina Jolie at UNHCR's Annual World Refugee Day (June 20th) to draw attention to the tragedy of more than 23 million refugees in the world. We are working in collaboration and I performed for them on the 21st, the same day I spent the afternoon at a fundraiser picnic of the Palestine Children Relief Fund, a group we got involved in when in Palestine (Gaza) last December.
The next week Susan and I went to Victoria, British Columbia, for a fundraiser and support for our friend Peggy Claude-Pierre, who has done some of the most important pioneering work for eating disorders, saving hundreds of lives. She has been slandered and persecuted and her residential facility closed by a jealous medical community. She is one of my big heroes, hurt by a medical community that has a much worse record with this difficult disease. We met many whom she had saved who came from all over the world to support her. I recommend her "Secret Language of Eating Disorders."
Then we went to Alberta to join our Cree National friend, Bernie Makokis, to be a part of their big fundraiser to help the children of The First Nation. We had a sweat lodge with Elders of the tribe and I was given the great honor of being made an honorary chief at their annual pow wow. I am Chief Kamamak, with full eagle headdress and clothes. Dancing at the pow wow with hundreds in full costume was unforgettable.
I came home for a day and then went for my 9th annual two weeks at Session B of Camp Winnarainbow, the miracle camp created by Wavy Gravy and his wife, Jahanara, in Laytonville, California. Lars and I have done it together; he is now a counselor. I teach clown philosophy—which is really a forum for peace, justice and care—for 150 kids ages 7-14. These angels find scholarships for many kids from the ghetto and reservations. This is a love fest. In San Francisco, on both sides of this session, I addressed 400 high school students from around the United States for the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, where they come for 11 days to be exposed to Medicine. I offered them the thrill of service to others.
Lars and I came home for two days to clean laundry and then go gather in West Virginia for 10 days with the staff there, with board members and future staff for our annual love fest—to meet, dream, prepare, and plan our next year. I put out a big encouragement this year for more people to engage in fundraising and I invite the reader to do so, also. First, really try to understand our project by reading my book, "Gesundheit!," and if you think we need this kind of hospital, please go talk with people. Twice we went to the newly formed part of the prison down the road for women prisoners who are pregnant or have had a child in the last two years. We had a riotous time and will be having the women over to our land. We hope to go there on a regular basis and also start a yoga class there.
The most impressive part of Gesundheit! is the people who are attracted to work there. They are my strongest impetus to keep at it. The place has never looked better. Thank you, George, Jackie, Kathy, and Andrew and Carline, and all the volunteers. AmeriCorps has come twice this summer to help and I spoke to their graduation on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the end of July.
I also went to Japan at the end of July for the premier of the second movie featuring me that was made by Japanese filmmaker Monden. This one, "Happy Elephants," was about our peace mission in Serbia and Croatia last summer where Lars, Susan, Wildman, John, Terra, and friends went to be part of the dream of Japanese children to replace elephants lost to Balkan war. I love my Japanese friends.
I then came home for one week before leaving for three weeks with both sons (Lars and Zag), Wildman, John, Terra, Bowen White, Kim, and a dozen Airline Ambassadors (led by the magnificent Leeann Hansen), mostly the ones who had enraptured us on our Cuba 2001 trip; to Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, and Easter Island. We did 3-6 engagements clowning every day and I lectured ten times to hospitals, universities, and a conference (this part paid for the trip). In each country we were active with hospital clowns, which was a special dessert. Lars and Terra were masters of their clowning with so much growth from last summer. Zag lives in Chile and was the trip photographer. The trip was enchanting; we did massive amounts of loving. Every lecture had literally thousands turned away. One highlight of many was the chance to meet the great Uruguayan writer, Eduardo Galeano (read: "Book of Embraces," "Open Veins in Latin America"). There are so many stories. In Chile we got a basketball, cut it in half, and painted it red. When we got to Easter Island, on our last day there, we put the red "nose" on one of the large statues. We stayed with the mayor's parents, Maria and Juan, on this isle of mystery and beauty.
Since then I've done another one of Jim Hightower's Rolling Thunder Down Home Democracy Reviews in St. Paul, Minnesota, to try to help return democracy to our fascist government. I get so heartened doing these. From there I went to two more packed days in Mexico City.
Wow! That was my summer vacation. Thanks to all of you who help us and any who help the rest of the world—there is such a need. Let's put great effort to unseat our current dangerous government—let's all take part.
I want you to know that in every second I plot and seek the building of our hospital. In that hunger, I do these other things hoping to find the magnet. Please love everyone and every day.
In peace,
Patch
p.s. The film "Clownin' Kabul" is for sale from me for $30.00.
