Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different

Patch Adams

(born 1945)

Patch was bullied at school for being different and for standing up to the racism that he saw around him. Because of the bullying, he ended up in the hospital three times. On this third visit, when Patch was eighteen, he decided that, after he got out, he’d start a revolution to spread happiness.

For awhile, he found it difficult to be around people, so he set out to do experiments in friendliness. He would call random numbers on his phone and speak to the people on the other end until they’d become friends. He would start up conversations with strangers in the street. And he would ride elevators up as many floors as it took for the people inside introduce themselves and start laughing together.

Patch became a clown and a doctor. He started his own hospital called the Gesundheit! Institute, where his goal wasn’t just to make his patients less sick, but to make them happier too.

These days, he flies all over the world, giving talks and performances as a clown and as a doctor. Patch doesn’t think the two jobs have to be separate. To him, laughter is one of the best medicines. It can get the blood flowing, strengthen your heart, and even help your body fight off diseases.

If you want to help make the world a better place, Patch has some suggestions: be silly in public, wear funny clothes, be friendly to everyone you meet, and pick up all the garbage that you see in your town. “Anyone can do something,” he says. “It’s about deciding to do it- to dive into work for peace and justice and care for everybody on the planet.”