Nana Rolls

Tonight I attended a party at a roller rink in Saugus. It was a birthday party for a local favorite comic, Ken Reid. My friend Korte called to see if I was going and I didn't know anything about it, but it sounded like fun. I thought I hadn't roller skated in about 7 years. It's actually closer to 20. My friends and I used to skate all the time. I am rusty. I fell twice. I got a little sad when I realized that two of my friends that I used to skate with are now dead. I was also keenly aware that I was the oldest person there . I kept looking for people who were my same age or older. Nu-Uh. I skated for an hour and a half. I finally stopped going around when I got thirsty. It was tough walking and I was little dizzy. I am in pain and expect to be so for the next week. But I did it ! I skated ! I fell and I got back up again ! I'm sure that's a metaphor for life. . . .
The Birthday Boy seemed really happy. Every one seemed to have a good time. It was a who's who of Boston comedy. Not everybody was there, but we comics was representin'.
And at work today . . .. .
They were pulling on the door at 8:30AM. We were slamming pretty straight through 2 o'clock. It was a hot and steamy day here in Boston town. "Steamy" in more ways than one. Someone left a digital camera on the counter. It had probably been there about 10 minutes before any of us noticed it. Ashley picked it up and brought it to the manager. She said we should looke at the pictures in case we could remember who it was . It was a bi-racial couple who had bought a trolley tour. There were pictures of them in a restaurant and at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and him standing naked on the bed with towel tied around his neck like he was a super hero. There about 4 photos of him like that, various poses of him flying through the air and standing super hero pose -like. He's naked. He's pretty overweight. Little Ashley is too young to see that and I think my manager has seen those kind of pictures one time too many . I just thought they were hilarious. We would have just turned it into the Ranger, but there was none on duty yet. We decided to sit tight , in case he came back.
Sure enough , he did ! He was pretty desperate to get the camera back. He even said "There are some incrimenating evidence on there". We all played calm and cool . Not a one of said "Yeah , we know ."
Those wacky tourists ! You never know what they are going to come up with ! I kind of think they did that on purpose. They must have known we were going to look at it ! People are always taking dirty pictures with their digital cameras. It's even dirty in the description of the product ! ""Digital" . ... come on !
So, that was my day. Interesting and challenging all around. And man. .. .Am I going ot be in pain from where I fell . . .

Must . .. Leave. . . House

Aarrrggghhh. . . .On Tuesdays, I don't have to be at the job early. It would be nice if I did arrive early, but I usually don't. I usually work a couple of hours and head off to the big city for the other job. I am dressed. I don't have all of my make-up on, I haven't brushed my teeth. I have eaten breakfast, did a small load of laundry and updated my resume. I have been meaning to update my resume for a couple of months now. I finally got the prints of my headshots and I'm going to an open call on Thursday, today was the day to get that update done. I'm not bragging , but I've done a lot of stuff in my "career" thus far and it doesn't all have to be on the resume. I changed the type face and eliminated some stuff . I added my Comic in Residence credit. It looks neater, but it's still pretty dense.
I need to swing by the bank and make a deposit. I won't be bringing my lunch to the job. I'll eat later. I am wearing a beige cotton skirt and a black v-line t-shirt. I will wear my rattan slides and I'll carry a black acrylic cardigan, because the air conditioning can get fierce. I need a haircut , so, I'll wear a headband again today. I apologize if this is incredibly boring, but this is the stuff I think about and what occupies my mind.
Oh, last might, I had an erotic dream about Justin Timberlake. .. .. he staretd it.

Another Monday Morning

So, I worked a convention over the weekend. 11 hours on Saturday and 11 1/2 on Sunday. It was relatively quiet for a convention . There were over 3,00o attendees and I think we interacted with about 20 of them. I went to bed early Friday and Saturday and I couldn't help but fall asleep early last night. I woke up early today but I turned right over and went back to sleep. I don't have to be at work until noon-ish today. I'm nursing a cup of tea and a cup of oatmeal. I am going nowhere fast.
The work I do at a convention is to answer fairly general questions about the City of Boston. I show people where they are on a map and I circle where they are trying to get to on the same map . I make restaurant recommendations and reservations. I tell them how to use the public transportation system and how best to use it to get where they are going . I am still amazed that you can take the T to your ariline terminal for $2.00 ! Of course, If you don't have a lot of luggage, that 's very feasible.
My friend Dee-Rob wasn't quite clear about what I do. She was picturing me draped across various car model hoods. Nowadays, I only drape my self for personal reasons. This body doesn't look that appealing in tight pants and tube tops anymore. In fact, most of my pants these days are "tight pants". But I don't think that's what they're looking for in a convention model. At least , not the conventions I 've been working .
The job is mostly pleasant. The people are generally in a good mood and they are going to restaraunts that they are not paying for . The company is paying ! Even if they are paying there can be a discount on their taxes at the end of the year because it's for work.
I have to dress nice , but I don't have to dress too fancy. Ideally , I like to wear a suit or a skirt and blazer type get-up. I wear comfortable shoes on the train and change into heels when I get there. I wear make-up and re-apply mid day because it usually melts off by two o'clock. It gets pretty cold in there, the air conditionoing is really terrific, I carry a scarf to use in case it gets too cold. Most of us bring something to read . I almost always have magazines to catch up on. It's a good opportunity to get some of those read and trashed. I bring a lunch and snacks. I try to bring smart snacks, like an apple or a yogurt. Every once in a while a co-worker will bring a bag of chips or cookies . I'm only human. I'll have some.
So, that's what I usually do at a convention. I should be getting my day started. I hope this was no too boring , but that is what I really do... . . and that can be a little boring. Have a great day !

Aaaahhhhhh. . Home !

Oh it feels so good to be home. I have been out every night for the last two weeks and I 've been working 7 days a week , out every night. Getting home at 10 PM doesn't count as "being home" for me .Tonight, I did my grocery shopping ,had a nice salad for dinner, did a load of laundry and now I am waiting for my toenails to dry because I haven't done a pedicure on myself since last summer. It's nice to be in the house and just putter. I'm going to rub cream on my feet and and slip on some cotton socks and that should give me nice soft feet. When the feet are soft , it keeps them from drying out or getting calloused. Okay, maybe that's obvious to the rest of you , but I just haven't had the time to soak my feet.
I'm working a convention tomorrow and Sunday, 11 hours tomorrow and 11 1/2 on Sunday. If I want to wear sandals, I will be able to, now. However, I am sure I will be a project to handle on Monday. Good luck, world !
I am in my jammies. I am drinking a lot of water. I will be well rested for the activities of the weekend. .. . which will just be working. I'm glad to get the extra work, I need the money . I still haven't paid off the last repair to my car. I sent them another check , today.
I realize I am rambling, but I just wanted to write something. I've set the alarm for tomorrow. I've already but my badge in my bag . I have an idea of what I will wear tomorrow. I have to dress nice . It doesn't have to be all glamorous, I just need to look like I care. I guess, I should always look like I care. . . . . .

The Contest

Hi , sorry it's taken so long to blog but I've been working crazy hours and , frankly, I am just too exhausted when I get home at night to write. I didn't even check my computer when I got home last night. So, the contest ... .
I parked my car under the Common so I could leave right from work. It cost about $5.00 less than I expected, so that was good. It took me alomost 2 hours to get down there, I got home in just over an hour. It was the rush hour traffic down and there was no traffic on the way back . I changed my uniform pants to jeans before I left work and I changed out of my uniform shirt when I got there. I wore a black short sleeve cotton blouse and tourquoise platform sandals. I touched up my make-up . I just threw away the wire hanger I had carried the blouse on. The rest room lady was keeping an eye on me in case I was some kind of riverboat hustler. No, I'm just an open -miker. Everything I took off-shoes,socks & shirt fit into my bag . I walked into the club 5 minutes before I was supposed to be there. So, in my mind , I was on time .
Charlie Hall was hosting instead of Frank O'Connell because Frank's son was graduating. We pulled numbers and I pulled number one. Okay, it's the luck of the draw. After the pull, 5 more comics walked up and Charlie felt it was unfair, so we pulled again. The second time , I pulled number 4. A better position , in my mind. I had a chance to watch how things were going and take some time preparing myself. Kris Earle was there and he pulled 14, mayb not such a good number. He too was philosphical. His first pull was 12, so there wasn't much of a difference for him. We sat together.
While we were sitting there, I ordered a bottle of water and a thing they make called a "Steak and cheese spring roll" . You could get almost anything but it was small enough but satisfiying enough that I wasn't hungry. Also , the water was a really big size so it would last the whole evening for me. While Kris and I chatted , I worked on my set. I listened to previous sets in the car on the way down. Sometimes it's funny but most times it's excruciating. What I usually find is something I said that I had forgotten about that I can use . Also, I get to the venue and I can't remember ANY of my material. I can ask Kris but I don't think he's going to to remember my sets. I needed like one more thing , and I recalled it right before I went up to wait.
The host did some time and then brought up one of the previous week's winners. Though she was cute, I don't think she brought the right amount of energy the beginning of the show needed. I don't know who was first and second but the girl ahead of me was very good . Her name was Miya. She had a lot of friends in the audience. My turn came and I opened with how I had gotten dressed in designer clothes for them . I was wearing head to toe Target, which I was. I took my time. I had deleted all my Boston and suicidal material. I was clean . There was a table of women my age up front who were really laughing during my set. To my left was a table of comics who were talking throughout my set, the little fucks, and they were right up front so only the person on stage could really see and hear them. The light started flashing at 4:30 so I wrapped it up with an abbreviated version of my Arts & crafts Holocaust bit and I just made it under the wire. I got a really good response for someone who only had one friend in the audience. I felt good about what I had done. I had redeemed myself after the whole Gardiner fiasco. Though I did learn something from that doomed trip which served me well on this adventure.
When I was done there were only 15 more comics to go ! Kris was 10 after me.The show started at 7:30 and it went until a little after ten. Those people really got a lot of bang for their five bucks. There was a special guest comic who got up and did ten, because clearly the show wasn't long enough already. He did one of the Walshes jokes VERBATUM. I hope he didn't see my set . I can't afford to have anyone rip me off. He did a guest spot because he was performing at the club on the weekend. He was unnecessary.
SO, what was there ? There was a woman who I think was deaf but she could sing well and she did an Elvis Presley impression. There was another guy, who was funny and creepy , who did a bit about masturbating and falling in the shower. One of the kids who "won", because he had about 50 people there ,basically did a bad Dane Cook impression. He had no material. When he gets to the rounds in front of judges, he is not going to last. The other kid who won had some pretty good jokes. His Dad is Pakistani and his Mum is Catholic and he had original material . He should last a couple of rounds . Kris Earle did his song parody again, which kills me ! It was filthy and the audience went crazy. No he didn't win but the audience was screaming !
Probably the funniest part of the evening was when one of the comics asked Kris to take some pictures of him onstage. I wasn't paying attention but I could hear Kris giggling , but I didn't know what was so funny. I looked over and Kris was having trouble focusing the camera so they were all blurry. Every picture he took was blurrier than the one before. We were laughing so hard , and we had to keep it quiet. I was in pain. The one clear picture he took was of the guys crotch , completly accidentallty, which only made us laugh more ! That was the funniest part of the evening for me.
At the end of the show , when they parade us in front of the audience to measure teh appplause, I got a polite response but people were saving their fire for their friends. I was glad I did it. I didn't puke, pee or cry on stage which is victory of a sorts for me. It wasn't the most important thing in the world. I just wanted to feel like I had done a good job and I do feel like I did a good job. I didn't embarrass myself or the great state of Massachusetts. Also, I had a wicked laugh with one of my friends and that is priceless !

Consistency is . .. . .

. . .The hobgoblin of littles minds. . .or so is quoted in the movie "Next Stop Wonderland". Tonight I did the open mike at the Green Dragon. It had a good sized crowd but they weren't there for the comedy. There were there for the open window and the beer. It was difficult not to just shout repeatedly over and over again "Shut Up ! Shut UP ! Shut Up !". .. it wouldn't have mattered, they weren't paying attention anyway. Even the other comics couldn't pay attention.
Jessica opened the show, she went around to each table and told them there was a comedy show about to begin, some people stayed and some left. I don't know who the first two guys were, I couldn't hear so I couldn't pay attention. I was third. I just shot the breeze a little bit and then I went into my material . . .sort of . I just couldn't concentrate. . ..Essentially, tonight was a washout in terms of helping me get ready for Wed. In the theater the belief is if the dress rehearsal goes awful the show will be great . Let me hope that that adage will carry over to me in regards to the show on Wed. Tonight couldn't have been more different from last night , if I had done it on purpose.
After me was Chris Pennie. He was on fire last night, tonight . . . . not so much. But , he did get it on tape ! Eskunder Boyd probably did the best. He got off the stage and actually went up to the yakkers and tried to get them involved. I could hear him pretty good, but I did miss a lot. Jack Hurney was there and I think he got the most attention from the crowd. Chris Nesbitt closed and he had a big group with him. Nothing. And by "Nothing" I mean just more of the same that everybody else was getting.
The best parts of this evening was hanging out with Chris Pennie before the show, the ten dollar bill I found in the street and the lobster roll I bought for dinner with said ten dollar bill.
Ther end.

Rafferty's Redux

Tonight I made the treck down to Marshfield to Rafferty's . My last trip down there, I got hopelessly lost over and over again within a mile of the club. Tonight, I left from Boston Common and I got there an hour before I was supposed to be there. I thought I might sample some local fried clams , but I went to the Ocean State Job Lot which was conveniently located across the parking lot from the club. I got two shirts for my boss, who's birthday is coming up and he's a hard to fit kind of guy, a couple of birthday cards for said boss and my Mom and a couple of Parker pens. Nice , clicker ball point pens-.75 each. I also went to Brooks and got some windshield wiper fluid and Zatador-an antihistamene for the eyes. While I had the hood open, and I had the time , I also checked the oil and put some more in. Taking advantage of the down time. Yeah, I know , fascinating stuff . . . . .
After killing enough time, I showed up only about 15 minutes early, and there were comics there already ! It's Krissy 's Kelleher's show, but she had Chris Pennie hosting. He did a really good job . Frankly he was on fire tonight ! Very funny to watch and he didn't record any of it ! The opening acts were two up and comers from Emerson -Reggie Williams and Gary Patterson. I had seen Reggie up in Gardner that terrible night . He was one of the winners. He told me that when they went back the following week, the show had been cancelled because of all the graduations. So, the "winners" used their gift certificates and left. Just poor planning and I'm glad I will never have to do a show in Gardner ever again. I'm sorry Reggie Williams had to spend some of his young life going there, but that's just how the cookie dough ball rolls. Both Reggie and Gary are good writers and they know how to sell it, still, so young.
Tim Grassey was on the bill, I had seen him before , he was good. Tim Dillion was there, with his wife , he was doing new stuff, very funny. Krissy Kelliher, herself, was really funny . She was doing stuff I hadn't heard before. Donny Boz (Bones ?) I had seen him before at the Isle, he's starting out . He's got very good stage presence and he did a really great bit about lottery scratch tickets, he's also getting married next week (good luck , Buddy!). Rick Cormier did a lot of new jokes. I couldn't tell if I had heard it some place else, but he was really energized and really funny.
I was trying to stick to my five minutes. I'm going down to the Catch a Rising Star contest in Rhode Island on Wed. I just want to be in fighting shape to do it. I tried to stay away from the Boston -centric material. Tried to stick to as many of the little jokes that I have. And, I slowed down, I have a joke where I can check my watch in the middle, when I thought I had done about 2 minutes, it was just over 30 seconds, so, I had plenty of time. I slowed down and it made a difference to the jokes and the audience. It felt really good and the audience really seemed to enjoy it. Kris Earl was there and he video taped me, so , I 'll get to see how it really looked.
The final act was Kris Earle. He did a lot of new material that he hadn't done before, it was a really good. He closed with a really filthy Billy Joel song parody. He had changed some of the words from the last time I had seen him do it. I laughed so hard I was in pain. I peed my pants, literally. Just a couple of drops, but still. .. I was sitting next to Krissy and she said , in between gasps, "I think I'm going to throw up ! " . She meant it in a good way . He can't do that in front of a regular audience , unless they' ve really cozied up to him earlier in a show. Filthy and funny.
It was a fun night . It was a great way for me to spend an evening . It was a fun night. The comics and the audience seemed to be having a good time . It was a small but attentive audience. It was a wonderful evening for me.

90 Years Old

Today, there was a birthday party for my God Father.He is 90 years old. I gotta say, he looks good for his age. His nieces and nephews (I assume) threw the party together for him. It started at 4 . Since I work until 6, I went up after work. I got lost , of course. When I finally got there, my Mother said that she, too, got lost and was about an hour later arriving than she thought she would be. It must be genetic.
It was held at a small but elegant Knights of Columbus on the North Shore. My God Mother is my Mother's first cousin and my God Father is married to her. My Grand Mother was the oldest of 7 and my God Mothers mother was the youngest. We all called her Aunt Margaret , though she was actually our Grand Aunt. They would come to visit us on most holidays when we were young. As we got older, it got more difficult for them to come by , I don't know why. They never had any kids. They travelled , a lot . I assume they had a neat house because they didn't have any kids to mess up their stuff. We sure never got over there. We were a "handful" to put it mildly. It was best to visit us in our natural habitat lest a fire or a flood occur.
My God parents have been married for along time now. I think they've been married about 65 years. They still hold hands and they can stil dance pretty good.Amazing rythmn. They dance better than me ! They seem to still really enjoy each other. There was a DJ at the party and they played "I'm Bringing Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake and my God Father got up and danced pretty good. There were a lot of kids and teen agers there and their parents and Grand Parents. Essentially , everybody in the family was there. My brother couldn't be there because he had Guard duty and couldn't get released.
Since I didn't really know a lot of the people on that side of the family , my Mother and I just sat there and watched everybody dancing. My God Mother came by and sat with my Mother a lot because my Mother and her are all that's left of that family. Her own sister died a few years ago and Aunt Margaret has been gone about 30 years.
When I think that marriage is a crock of shit and that nobody has a real marriage , I gotta think about my God Parents. I know they went through good times and bad but they're still together and they're still having fun.
OR,
At least they put on a good show . ... . .

Feet as Transportation

As often happens after I've had a meal with my buddy Keith, I will recall some snippet of the conversation that makes absolute crystal clear sense to me and then, a couple of days later , I act on it. The particular bit of dialogue was about exercise and how if you just walk a half hour a day, you can keep yourself in shape and might lose some wieght. I currently look like I'm in my 5th month of a pregnancy, which is impossible unless the aliens got me when I was sleeping on a bus or in the middle of a corn field, which I am not inclined to do. . . I'm carrying the weight around my waiste, the heart attack zone. They say if you're "apple" shaped , for some reason , that body type is more inclined to heart attacks. I'm not afraid of dying form a heart attack , I 'm more concerned about surviving in a diminished capacity . Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere.
I had also read in some magazine that sometimes, if you can' t block out a whole half hour , you can sneak in 10 minute walks during the day . Like taking the stairs instead of an elevator or parking as far away from the entrance of the mall as you can , thus ensuring a little aerobic boost before spending money which don't have . You can also "stockpile" your exercise. So, that if you walk for an hour one day , you can take credit for it towards another day in the week.
"Aha ! " says I.
Wed., after work, I walked to a different train station and got in about 20 minutes extra. Thursday morning , I got the earlier bus , got off a stop early and took the long way to the booth and got in a half hour before work. After work, I planned to walk from the Common to Massachusetts Ave. via the Commonwealth Mall.Then get the N #1 Dudley bus. I estimated it would take about a half hour. It did. The Commonwealth Mall is a really pretty section right smack dab in the middle of the city. It's a green area right down the middle of Commonwealth Ave with lots of benches and statues. There are a lot of trees so it's shady and cool. I felt like a tourist. I felt like I was back in Paris or Edinburgh walkng around because I didn't have to be anywhere at any time, in particular.
When I got to Massachusetts Avenue, there was no bus in sight and I could still walk, so, I figured I'd walk over the bridge over the Charles and get the bus in front of MIT. A bus did pull up , but there was no room. SO, I figured I'd walk to Central Square and pick up teh bus to Harvard Square, surely the next bus wouldn't be as crowded. By the time I got to Central Square, I figured, "It's not that far to Harvard Square, how much longer could it take ? 20 minutes ? " So, I walked all the way to Harvard Square. It took an hour and a half. I got in two hours of exercise yesterday. So, in 2 days , I got in over 210 minutes of walking. That's 30 minutes a day for 7 days. I have met the Governmental requirements. I won't die of a heart attack , this week.
Though, mostly , I think it's cool that I could walk that far and not be out of breath. I was a little sweaty , but that 's good. I think my ultimate goal would be to walk from home all the way into Boston. Maybe that will be a goal for me. You know, John Adams used to walk from his house near Braintree all the way into Boston to go to work. Why he walked instead of taking a horse, I don't know. Maybe parking was just as bad then, as it is now in Boston ?

Blob on a Log

Aaahhhhh. .. I shouldn't have put my jammies on . I should have planned to go out somewhere. I HAD planned to come home and catch up on some paperwork. I did a load of laundry. I had dinner and now I'm in my sweats and tshirt cruising channels and writing a blog. This is not paperwork and none of the clutter is going away.
I worked the booth today. We got two new kids. Nice kids . They aren't too familiar with downtown Boston , but they've been better than most so far.
Last week, I found a wheelchair from Brigham and Womens Hospital on the Common. Actually , it was left near our back door like some wheelchair foundling. It had a phone number stencilled on the back. My manager called the number and was told that somebody would be coming to retrieve it. It was still there Sunday and it was still there when I came in today. So,I called Brigham and Womens and I was told that someone would come and get it . I told them we close at 5. It was still there when I left today. If it's there when I go to work tomorrow, I will call them at 9 am, noon and 3 PM , just to see what kind of results it gets.
Speaking of "Results" I had a woman come into the booth today looking for help in finding shelter, a bed for the night . I called Rosies place. She definitely needed help. I couldn't tell if she had just gotten out of a hospital or jail. She looked to be in her early 20's. Maybe not all the way through the ringer but she seemed liek she could go either way . I didn't have an AA meeting list pamphlet to give her.We keep them for just such an occassion. Maybe alcohol wasn't her problem. She asked me if she could use the phone, I'm not supposed to let customers use the phone. She just asked me to call her Dad to let him know she was okay. I did. I was willing to get in trouble. She seemed sincere. Her poor Dad didn't know who I was-why should he ? She just wanted to call her Dad to let him know she was okay. I hope she will be okay.
I called Rosies Place and they way the explained it, is if she could get there by 4:30 she could be put on an available bed list. If she couldn't get a bed , they would help to find her a bed. That's a tough way to live. It's a tough choice to keep making. I hope I don't see her again, unless she's okay.
I guess that's a good enough reason to go to work, ain't it ?

Me & Mr. Frosty

The first chapter of Stephen Kings' book "the Cell" starts at the corner of Boylston and Arlington Streets in downtown Boston at the corner of the Public Garden. At the Mr. Frosty ice cream truck, to be exact. The armageddon starts there with a softserve cone and a cell phone call, according to Little Stevie. I can think of no better place for that to happen.
Yesterday, on my lunch , I took a walk up to the Public Garden. I almost ran out of time to get a soft serve, almost. . .but not quite. I got a small chocolate. It 's all very green and shady over there in the Public Garden. I walked along the Boylston Street path and looked at the statues of prominent men cut down in their prime-Sumner, Kusckusko, some other guy. It passed the time.
I like the idea that I am within walking distance of a fictional/literary scene/ event. It's fun to see how well Mr. King described the neighborhood. It was my own little literary walking trail. Yesterday was a lot colder than expected . Fortunately, I had thrown on a fleece jacket before I left the house, so I wasn't freezing. Saturday had been sweltering, so the temperature yesterday was really unexpected.
After work, my buddy Keith and I shot up to Woodmans in Essex. There was no traffic and no wait when we got there. There was hardly anyone there, because of the weather. Man, I love fried clams ! They do them really good up there. They use a cornmeal batter and it makes the clams that much sweeter. Woodman's claims to have invented the fried clam. Though Farnhams down the street also claims that distinction. I don't care , I've eaten at both places and I prefer Woodmans.
Okay , I know this blog entry is not going to make John Updike doubt his talent. I'm just trying to keep writing. It's something.

Ahhhh. .. Much Better

For the last 3 years my buddy , Kris Earle , and I have volunteered to tend bar at the Charlestown Working Theater annual benefit. It's fun to spend time together , we are a good bar team , and we make about $20.00 in tips. Tony V usually assembles a great line-up and it's an all-around good feeling evening. Most of the volunteers come back year after year, so there isn't a lot of explaining to do . We all sort of remember what the deal was from the year before and that helps to make things run smoothe.
Kris and I usually tend the bar upstairs for the food portion of the evening and then we run the bar downstairs during the intermission. We hand off the drinks back and forth. The people who attend the event are really nice. Their kids participate in the plays and programs at the theater. It's a real community evening . The food and liquor is donated by local merchants.
So, Tony offered to have me do a set. I had 10 minutes. Ten minutes in front of an audience that wanted to laugh and were paying attention. A packed audience. It was liberating !I didn't talk too fast. I opened with joke I thought of today. "I had onion rings at lunch today and I got one in my eye. I had a crumb stuck in my eyelid for an hour. How does that happen ? I guess that truly is an eating disorder". Maybe it's not Bill Hicks caliber, but it was new and it helped me focus. It will be a good joke some day, it's mostly there. . . and it is true. And then I did the rest of my regular material. I did wander in the middle of one of my jokes. It wasn't particularly funny, but they were with me and then I eventually got to the end and I felt really good about it. Lenny Clarke said "great job " to me . .. I gotta say. . . That was really cool !
Kris and I were talking afterward and he said that wandering in the middle of my set is a kind of trademark of mine. I've done it before . I'm sure I do it regularly in conversation, but I have no recollection of it. Usually , when I wander in the middle of my set, it rattles me and I have a hard time getting back to where I was going. However, tonight I was able to get myself back to where I wanted to be.
All in all it was a nice little surprise for me to be performing in front of such a great audience. Tony V seemed really happy with the show . He did agreat job of putting it together(If I do say so myself !) It was a good evening and a good show.