New life on the laugh track

Of all the stories about people re-creating themselves in this dismal economy, Star Grigsby's could be the cheeriest.

Grigsby, a 48-year-old nursing assistant and mother of five, managed to stay above water working two jobs until 2005. That year she suffered a work injury that required cutting back her hours. Her marriage was disintegrating and one of her kids was having serious problems at school. Then she discovered her home's mice infestation -- about 300 of them.

"There were mice in my underwear drawer," Grigsby said, eyebrows leaping skyward. "It was like 'Stuart Little.' Hi! How ya doin'?"

The family moved to another house that, two years later, burned down due to a dryer fire. "You know," she told herself, "life could be a lot better."

Her capacity for humor (dry included) hasn't just saved Grigsby's mental health. Her determination to smile in the face of tragedy is returning her to financial health, too. After two years of planning, and thanks largely to a little known nonprofit in northeast Minneapolis, she's now the owner of Pickles Entertainment, starring Grigsby as Pickles the Clown.

"I thrive off of kids' energy," said Grigsby, who spent much of the summer parading around in psychedelic overalls, a green tie-dyed shirt, pink high tops, a red nose and a curly purple wig as a member of the St. Paul Powder Puff Clown Club.

"Someone told me, 'You really know how to work a parade.'"

After a year of college, Grigsby got pregnant and dreams got tucked away. She raised her son and became active on the board in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis, volunteered in a lead-abatement program and helped to develop emergency kits for families with children at Children's Hospital-Minneapolis.

She later married, remaining her family's primary breadwinner in a variety of health and food-service jobs. The family managed until the mice arrived. Fortuitously, the Legal Aid Society referred Grigsby to Person to Person, (www.ptop.org), a local nonprofit that has kept individuals out of poverty and homelessness for 20 years. Person to Person gave Grigsby $500 for a security deposit on a new home, but that was just the first reason for her to smile again. She also was partnered with advocate and occupational therapist Glennie Jeanne Pogue.

"What's important to you?" Pogue asked Grigsby in the spring of 2005. Grigsby had three goals. First, she wanted to be smarter about managing her money. Person to Person taught her how to budget and clean up her credit, and referred her to a two-day workshop on financial management.

Second, she wanted to reclaim her health. Grigsby was pushing 300 pounds and taking nearly 20 medications. Pogue was her cheerleader as Grigsby started walking and doing water aerobics at the YMCA. She's now 125 pounds lighter.

Grigsby's final goal no longer seemed intimidating. Her church, the Spirit and Truth Worship Center in Minneapolis, sponsored her at Mooseburger clown camp in Buffalo, Minn., and she recently completed a course on writing a business plan, offered by the Neighborhood Development Corp.

Person to Person, Grigsby said, "was that train I got on, and they walked me through the steps." She also credits her faith in God for pulling her forward.

Pogue, who meets regularly with Grigsby to keep her on track, calls her "amazing."

"I was impressed by how clearly she knew what she wanted to do," Pogue said.

Grigsby's children, ages 30 to 15, are impressed, too, but they won't always admit it. "They say, 'Mom, not the clown thing!' But they like it," Grigsby said.

She currently works at a senior care facility in St. Paul but hopes to one day run Pickles Entertainment full-time as a business and ministry. "There's nothing wrong with asking for help," said Grigsby, as she and Pogue made this week's to-do list: Continue with marketing plan. Print fliers. Take a computer class.

Gail Rosenblum • 612-673-7350 • gail.rosenblum@startribune.com