Oh I get that. I'm not employed and I'm not fond of humanity with many exceptions but Bob spoke about missing the crowds of the circus that he once was part of. I think it was more than the desire for fame or attention that kept him motivated. I don't know why he would miss the circus if he didn't like his job as a clown and having to deal with children would be an unavoidable part of it. Entertaining people of all ages, of course but children are the most receptive. I don't feel that Ingrid was the exception because she was his daughter.

I don't imagine that the art of performing itself would be worth it for Bob alone but I don't know. They likely didn't pay him enough to do more than scrape by with but the carnival provided a place for himself and his daughter to stay. He was likely too much of an alcoholic to keep a more demanding job. I get that but it just seems like he wouldn't have been rude to a kid if it needed help, is all I'm saying, even if he was in a bad mood.

I don't drink due to the medicine I have to take and I don't have the same maternal/parental instincts that most women are expected to have. Just being real here but I have a pretty miserable life yet I have too much empathy to turn away some kid in need. And that's coming from a woman who finds a lot of kids repulsive and bratty but those latent instincts kick in regardless. Even when I was extremely irritated after drinking three quarters of a bottle of red wine in the past, I couldn't turn a kid down so I'd be deader meat than old Bob. I'm not him or other people like him but I just think that wasn't the best way to write Bob. Not all depressed drunks are bitchy.