Come See a Show...

Up coming December shows:

Friday/Saturday December 6 & 7 Mason City Limits Comedy Club 8pm
Thursday December 12 Laugh Comedy Club Bloomington, IL 8pm 
Friday/Saturday December 13 & 14 Laugh Comedy Club 7 & 930pm
Friday/Saturday December 20 & 21 Joke Factory Comedy Club - Rochester NY 8pm

Thankful Shout Outs Along the Manifest Destiny Tour

With my boys safely in the loving care of Uncle Ted and Aunt Dee Dee Williams in Port Orchard, WA… I’m thankful for Dee Dee’s daily text updates and pics…

I’m halfway through my second week on the road and it’s time for an update… And a thankful shout out to those who are following along…

My retirement comedy show Friday, November 22^nd at the Idaho Falls Elks was a rousing success with over 100 in attendance… Many thanks to all those who came out to the show… I won’t say I’m missing Idaho Falls… But I am looking forward to sharing some laughs with friends and former co-workers when I return...

On the road the following Sunday… For what turned out to be a “Mile High” week in Denver…  With shows at The East Coast in Fort Collins, The Lobby in Denver and Loonee’s in Colorado Springs… Many thanks to comedy buddy Brett Crandall and his extended family for the holiday hospitality… 

It was great to meet some of the Denver area’s local comics… Brent Podosek and Jeff Albright to name a few… Fun and interesting, “interactive” audiences in Colorado last week…

I have already documented with Facebook updates the lousy two days following breakfast at Denny’s on my way out of Denver… Feeling stronger and again heading east, the unseasonably warm weather cooperating… I spent two nights road comic camping on my way to Mason City, IL where I will be featuring for Steve Caminiti this weekend (Fri/Sat) at Mason City Limits… Another thankful shout out to fellow comic and club owner Chris Speyrer…

An appearance last night at Donnie B’s an hour south of Mason City in Springfield, IL and another tonight an hour north in Peoria, IL at the Jukebox… It feels great to be on stage almost daily… Finally doing what I was born to do… With the cooler December weather finally beginning to catch up to me today, it feels great to stand in the warmth of the stage lights again…  

Taking my car in for a brake check up tomorrow… Then heading east again no later than Monday with a stop in Champaign, IL to see my twin sister… She’s the good looking one… I’m the funny one…

Then heading to NY for my Comedy Homecoming shows at The Joke Factory in Rochester, NY December 20 & 21… It will be great to laugh with family and old friends again…  

Yes, this blog read is boring… But life has never been more exciting…  

Stuck Inside of Mullan with the Idaho Blues Again

Starting a long, but uneventful drive with the boys approximately 6pm Thursday evening from Idaho Falls to Port Orchard, Washington… Including two one hour stops for naps, we arrived 15hrs later tired but no worse for wear… Though the car is FULL of dog hair… 

Spent Friday reminiscing with an old shipmate and catching up on the last 30 years… The boys are safe and happy with Uncle Ted, Aunt DeeDee and Cousin Tilly… 

After a great dinner, a goodnight’s rest, coffee and a nice breakfast… I said my thank you to Ted and DeeDee and my goodbyes to the boys, while DeeDee cried… Stopping soon enough to almost immediately start sending me pictures and updates… I sincerely appreciate the quick emotional attachment… The boys have that way about them… I know they will be loved… ;)

Not sure what time I hit the road this morning… But the ride through the Cascade Mountain passes was clear and easy… Making great time and a command decision to stop for something to eat in Northern Idaho, still west of Missoula… The great time evaporated quickly evaporated as snow began to fall… Interstate 90 shut down for all intents and purposes with traffic backed up for miles… I was not going to spend this night camping in my car… Exiting the highway in Mullan, ID… I am spending the night at the Lookout Motel… Happy to have found a room… It’s clean and warm… I am grateful… Though the bed seems to have backache written all over it…

Thus my Facebook status update… Note to self… Next road trip pack booze… There isn’t much nearby and I’m not about to go out in the lousy weather looking for some… Given the situation a nightcap or two or three would have certainly been enjoyed…

Hoping I will wake to clear skies and an open road tomorrow… I’m grateful to have a portable internet hotspot and my laptop with me… So I can surf Facebook and write this blog…Though it might have been fun to write it drunk…

There’s more I wanted to say… But now the rest seems like maybe it should have its own blog… Sleep may not come easy tonight…

A Dog Tale...

Many years ago in a galaxy far, far away… Fall 1977 Rochester, NY…

As I sat with friends in the cafeteria of Monroe Community College I mentioned in passing that I was considering enlisting in the Navy… Someone I had never met… But sitting within ear shot of the conversation… Interrupted… Yes, it’s been many years… I remember only one detail of the ensuing conversation about his time in the service… “If you do… You will make friends that will last a lifetime.”

  

A few weeks later, I did enlist… And many years later it continues to be proven true…

This week I posted on FB that I needed a temporary home for my three dogs… That same day I received a FB message from a friend I haven’t seen since 1982, when I left the boat in San Diego…

We can marvel at the wonders of the Internet and FB making it easy to stay in touch… But even that is relatively new… A lot of years had passed between us before it was even possible…

I prefer to marvel at the generosity extended, when he and his wife offered to take my boys for me while I am on the road for the next two months… Now living in Port Orchard, WA with his wife and their 9 yr. old yellow lab… Who will be getting three wonderful playmates to share 2.5 acres of woods with… The boys will be happy and safe… I didn’t have to break them up to find them homes… I didn’t have to do the unthinkable and condemn them to death by dropping them at the shelter… There are a lot of wags left in those tails…

So next Thursday afternoon the boys and I will load up for a car ride to the coast… A 12 hr drive according to Google that will most likely take at least 15 with gas stops, pee breaks and most likely a nap in the car for me somewhere along the way… The adventure of life continues…

Thanks, Ted, for making this a happy tale…     

Manifesting My Destiny

Having given the contents of today’s blog much thought… It may read as more of a stream of consciousness… A stream with several beginnings… Maybe more than one middle and definitely an ending waiting to be written somewhere out on the comedy road…

I am exactly three weeks from beginning the biggest adventure of my life… I have made the commitment to “Manifest My Destiny” on the comedy road full time… Thursday November 21^st will be my last day at the Idaho National Laboratory…

I am 57 years old… I don’t intend to die sitting alone in a facility control room or while riding the bus an hour each way… While wishing I had given this an honest shot…

As a member of the Idaho Falls Elks Club #1087… I have booked a Retirement Party/Going Away show there for Friday November 22^nd…

I expect to be on the road by Sunday November 24^th, headed east… I have three open weeks… I am asking for “a little help from my comedy friends” to fill with some comedy work on my drive east…  

I am booked to feature at the new Joke Factory in my home town of Rochester, NY December 20 – 21… Except for a funeral I haven’t been there in more than 3yrs… 

Returning now for something much happier… I am looking forward to laughing with many family and friends at the shows and over the Christmas holiday… Many thanks to Artie Fletcher for the opportunity to perform close to home this holiday season…

Leaving Rochester… I again asking for “a little help from my comedy friends” to fill in the three weeks after Christmas as I head to St. Croix, WI and Shakopee, MN for my first gigs as part of the Entertainment Max roster… January 9 – 11...

I am excited to be working for Entertainment Max… Though disappointed it falls the same weekend of the Idaho Laugh Fest… Maybe it’s professional progress to have to turn down an invitation to a comedy festival because of previously scheduled paid work…

Heading west from there back towards Idaho Falls… The calendar is need of even more “help from my comedy friends” until I head to California the end of February again for this year’s SLO Festival… You can see video of my performance at last year’s SLO Festival here… Steve 'The Nuclear Guy' from Entertainers Worldwide Ltd

As I ask for “a little help from my comedy friends” in filling my calendar and making the chasing of this dream possible… Please my friends… Read Part II of this blog and realize the sacrifice I am making to chase this… Please don’t let this sacrifice be made in vain…

PART II

The hardest part of writing this blog… And a big request for “a little help from my Idaho friends”… Some of you may already know what I need to ask… I think all of you know it is breaking my heart to have to ask this… You all know what they mean to me… But if I am going to chase this crazy dream…

I need to find a home or homes for my boys… Temporary or permanent… I would love to keep them together, but realize that might not be possible… They are the most amazing animals… Smart, affectionate and loving to everyone… Always looking for playmates… They get along well with all other animals…

Riley, the chocolate lab is the oldest at 11.5 years old… He turns 12 in June… Still spry for his age… He needs a safe and loving place to live out his years…

JJ, the black lab/beagle mix is 9.5 years old… He’ll be 10 in August… Probably the smartest of the three… He is also the most energetic during our trips to the dog park… He’s quiet, patient and loves to give hugs to everyone he meets…

Simon, the yellow lab is 8.5 years old… He’ll be 9 the end of July… The baby of the three… He truly is a big baby and needs a place where he’ll be babied and loved…

I am running short on time to find them a home or homes… Please Idaho I need someone to step up… If you or anyone you know who may be willing to adopt or foster (maybe indefinitely) please let me know as soon as possible…  

Desert Nights

Originally planning to work on editing old blogs and short stories for my book while on last weekend’s adventure into the Idaho desert… It was immediately obvious that rehashing old stories while living a new adventure just wasn’t going to happen…

While the laptop containing all the old stories had been brought along… The desert dust convinced me it might be a better idea not to take it from the back pack… A pen and paper it would be… Sometimes old ideas are the better ideas…

Though testing fine the night before we left… RV generator problems also meant I would have been limited by laptop battery life… Luckily I had plenty of ice to keep food and beer cold since the RV fridge wasn’t running correctly without the generator, either…

Riley had reminded me earlier that Lewis and Clark crossed the country with no generators, refrigerators or propane stoves… I could still cook food so our adventure continued…

While two solar powered spot lights lit up the area outside the RV… It was eerily quiet each night… The boys breathing and the sound of my pen scratching across the paper in the lantern light the only sounds…

We were alone in the wilderness… Back east the wilderness always meant forest… Here there are no trees to be seen for as far as the eyes can see… 

The smell of sage brush crushed by the tires of the RV is one of the most awesome smells in the world… 

Beautiful desert flowers I have dug up to plant in a pot at home… Are safer than some of my poisonous relationships… Looked nice… But should never have touched…

Sitting outside in a camping chair darkness surrounding me… It’s a different kind of stage… But just like stand-up comedy… I was on it alone… The light of the lantern acting as the stage spotlight… Desert moths dancing in the light are the only hecklers at these shows…

The magnificent night sky fills with stars in the darkness… Like candles on show room tables they are the only thing I can see staring into the sky… The place is packed every night…

The road comic adventure is beginning again in earnest…

My last day at the Idaho National Lab is November 21^st… My notice has been given… The decision immediately questioned... Tragically confirmed in my own mind by the sudden death at 52 of a Facebook friend I had never met… I’m 57 and I’m going to go out doing what I want…

It requires no more discussion…

A keg in the corner and a two drink minimum… My DVD on loop on a big screen TV at my wake…  Play Dennis Leary’s “I’m an Asshole” at my funeral… And fill my pockets with fireworks before you send me to the crematorium… I’ll go out with a bang…

All that’s left is to manifest a full calendar of work…

Booked to feature at the new Joke Factory in Rochester, NY December 20 & 21… I look forward to some much needed laughing with family and friends for the holidays…  

The triumphant return home of a prodigal son… My comedy once lost has now been found…

Eventually the old blogs and short stories may be edited into a book… But the important stories are the ones to come… The ones that will tell a love story… With the stage… The road and the people who encouraged me and helped me to find my comedy again… I travelled 2000 miles to meet them…

Wherever the comedy winds take me… They will travel in gratefulness with me in my heart… 

Blackjack Riley

Your name was Blackjack, but everyone just called you Jack. A black lab retriever and my fabulously, faithful, floppy eared, furry, friend. I'm just remembering you today as I often do my friend.

Remembering how you loved to head to the water on the hot summer days and your daily visits to the neighbors for treats. Which often led me there for a visit also, only to find you on their sofa in front of the TV. "Can my dog come home now?" I'd say.

You never seemed to think you were a dog and I guess you were right. You certainly were more than just a dog. You, who were always there with a willing ear and a sloppy kiss as you'd climb up onto the sofa and put your head in my lap. Just an ear scratch and a belly rub was all you would ask.

"Jack the Licker" we'd call you or of course "Jack Riley", since you certainly had the life. You still are such an example my friend, never an unkind word (or bark) for anyone. Not even for the neighbor’s cats, who took over your doghouse and made it the neighborhood "cat house".

Remembering how you willingly tolerated (you actually loved the attention) having to wear your doggy antlers at Christmas. And how you proudly wore your fire helmet and rode in a fire truck during the parades. And your Halloween bandana as you "trick-or-treated" to the neighbors again for bacon strips.

You were never judgmental and so full of life and love, love given unconditionally to all. But especially me, for 16yrs my friend you always seemed to know when I needed it most.

I remember now the games of "biscuitball" and walks in the park with your lease in your mouth. "He's taking himself for a walk" I'd tell everyone.

"He's died and went to heaven", everyone said the day you came to live at the lake with me. No, my friend you brought heaven to me.

It's 15 years years now, since you've been gone. I remember that day so clear, the most difficult day of my life. The day I repaid you for all of your unconditional love. Barely able to walk, but with a heart so brave, I lifted you into the truck and stopped to buy you donuts on the way. Proud to the end, you would not be carried into the vets that day. Silently you walked in and lay on the floor, three grown adults cried as they watched.

That heart so strong, it almost refused to stop. But finally you rested, a rest so deserved. Now you're in doggie heaven, I'm sure and chasing slow rabbits is your reward.

We miss you, my friend and Zeekee, the cat who runs with you now, too. She slept in your spot until it was her turn to join you.  Riley was your namesake, chocolate he was though and bigger too, plus the little black lab, JJ (Jack Junior)... Simon, the yellow lab. They sat together with Zeekee to keep her warm and say goodbye on her last day... 

Friends you would have been, playmates I'm sure. They've all joined you now... And there's a new kitty in the house... I miss you my friend... XXX

Midnight on the Water

With annual job performance reviews out this week... I thought I would use last night's midnight shift to drop my sails and take some time for reflection and an annual self assessment...

It's been a turbulent personal year... Finally admitting last year, about this same time, that making believe I was happy aboard a rudderless ship had to come to an end... I had heard the siren calls to a lonely sailor and steered the ship way off course... I was getting nowhere fast, rudderless, bow turned into a strong head wind... The sails needed to be adjusted and quick the ship was taking on water fast and headed for the rocks...

I've sailed some rough seas in the process of turning the ship around and I'm sure there may be a few more storms to sail through, but in finally determining where I wanted to go, a course has been charted towards the fair and now not as distant shores of the stage lights on the horizon...

I'm not there yet... But last night’s self-assessment has helped adjust the sails... And will help keep me from again steering too far off course... I know what I want and I am happy for the opportunity to pursue those dreams... Sometimes though there's a need to zoom out and look at the whole map... Not just the zoomed in "you are here" gps screen to realize… “Hey, I don’t need any detours…”

Feeling a bit depressed last night over some current events and not having something I felt I needed or maybe have been wanting... I realized... “Hey, that wasn't on the list of things I asked for last year...”

I realized I am right smack dab in the middle of what I asked for... There isn’t time to take the scenic route… I tried it… It doesn’t take me where I want to go…

All I need to do is keep my eyes on the horizon, adjust the sails and keep steering towards the fair winds and following seas... There are some buoy markers to sail past and around yet and some additional course corrections will have to be made as I sail past them... Some will bring choices on which way to steer the ship... Thought and reflection will be needed to pick the right course... But staying alert, to the process of reaching those markers will easily help determine the course to steer when those decisions need to be made...

The current goal is to book as much comedy road as possible and to attend every comedy festival between now and this year’s World Series of Comedy this September in Vegas… After which other decisions can be made… Full time road comic… Or open my own club smack dab in this hot bed of assholes who can’t take a joke… Idaho Falls… Thanks Chris Speyrer of Mason City Limits for planting that seed…

I'm refreshed and ready to set the sails for the course I'm determined to steer... Straight into the bright comedy stage lights...

 

http://youtu.be/PuFZVVrZtyk