Sunday, May 25, 2014

Idios Idaho

Needing to put some coherent thoughts down for a few days now… I am sitting here struggling to start the word flow like an old guy with prostate problems struggles to start a piss…

Almost always the blog title comes first and I write from there… It’s not the case today… We’ll see what title comes when I’m done…

Leaving Tuesday night for a few days in Vegas, then Laughlin, NV over the weekend and Pinetop, AZ next Monday… Continuing to work on putting together a “Biker Bar” tour June – October around already booked work and an invite to the Ventura Comedy Festival in August and September…

As the calendar fills… Another decision looms… My apartment lease runs out the end of July and despite the disappointment it may bring to the ladies of Idaho Falls… I think it’s time to move… It’s time to move out of the comedy Siberia of southeast Idaho… Time to plant myself where there’s real and regular opportunities to perform…

So the discussion centers on where to go and the pros and cons of several places on my list… In no particular order…

Salt Lake City… Yes, there’s a lot of Mormons there… But there is also the big city diversity offered not found in Idaho Falls… There are certainly many more opportunities to perform than in Idaho Falls… But does it significantly cut down on the distance needed to drive for out of town gigs??? I don’t believe it does…

Vegas… Many opportunities to perform… Relatively much shorter drives to gigs in California, Arizona and New Mexico… Similar to Idaho it also offers the dry climate I prefer without the frigid winters… Unless I am on the road… I’d be able to blog from my hammock year round… I’ll spend some time there this week researching pet friendly apartments…

Seattle… The comedy scene on the northwest coast in Washington and Oregon is a happening scene… So there would seem to be many opportunities to perform there… The weather isn’t dry, but the winters are fairly mild… Of course, other things could place Seattle “higher” on the list…

Denver… While not really the mid-west it does put me somewhat closer to gigs in Middle-America… The local and surrounding area does provide ample opportunities to perform… The winters are a bit colder than Seattle’s but not as harsh as those in Idaho or the northeast… And just like Seattle… Other things could place Denver “higher” on the list…    

California always sounds nice… But cost of living… Population density… Traffic… Make it a nice place to visit… But I don’t think I want to live there…

Northeast (NY)… Again… The cost of living… Taxes… Intrusive state government… Horrible winters... And swarms of insects to battle during the humid summers… Makes the northeast also a nice place to visit… But I KNOW I don’t want to live there…

Southern Mid-West… Ample opportunities to perform in a significant radius… Certainly less harsh winters than Northern Mid-West… But heading towards the humidity and insects of the eastern seaboard…

Southeast… Lots of opportunity to perform… Mild to no winters… Humidity and insects every summer…

So there’s a lot to think about and some personal pros and cons not listed here… Decision time is looming… Not moving would only be considered if there’s so much road work booked I don’t have time to move…


Oh and this blog title… “Idios Idaho”…

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Tears of a Clown

I hadn’t written a blog since shortly after the New Year, while I was still on the return to Idaho leg of long road trip…

Finished one last week and the voices in my head have been telling me they had more to say…

In last week’s blog I spoke of an older woman who approached me after a show… I won’t re-hash the story again here… If you missed it you can read it here

But the voices are telling me there are other recent acquaintances who asked some interesting and thought provoking questions…

While discussing my life as a comic… And describing life on the road… I was met with this comment… “It sounds like a lonely life.” Yes, yes it can be… I will refer you an earlier post made by my friend and fellow comic Stu McCallister

Yes, it can be lonely… But to me… There is no better feeling in the world than coming on stage…

Hey… Don’t judge me!!! It’s exciting on stage!!!

But then just last week… Someone I had met just days earlier looked me in the eye and asked… “Do you ever cry???”

Huh??? Another thought provoking question…

“Do you ever cry??? Do comedians ever cry??? Comedians tell jokes… Are you ever sad???”

I would hope that most of you who know me already also know the answer to that question… But I find the posing of the question in the first place very interesting… Many of you may have already read this – But I offer it here again in response to that question…

While also adding this story with an addendum from this past weekend…

Though it’s a story I thought I had written about before… I can find it nowhere… I know I have told it to at least a few of you… Including the person who asked me if comics cry…

Easter week 2013 I returned to NY for the first time in three years…

Unfortunately, it was to attend the funeral of a beloved uncle… It was good to see family and friends despite the circumstances…

Fortunately, I was also able to visit with the parents of my best friend of 40 something years… A friendship that has survived my years in the Navy… Distance… And time… Paul’s dad had suffered a stroke shortly before my visit… But he was up, alert and very much able to visit… Blessed by the visit… I knew in my heart when I shook his hand and said goodbye that it truly was…

Returning to Idaho… I was visited a few months later… Towards the end of May… By that little voice… Telling me to call Paul… I repeatedly used the 2hr time zone difference as an excuse not to call… Deep inside, I knew… But I didn’t want to hear it…

Last Memorial Day, having spent the day grilling and listening to baseball… I settled in front of my computer about 11pm… Again using the 2hr time zone difference as an excuse not to call… A phone call 30minutes later bringing me to my feet… It was Paul… It was 130am in New York… Exchanging some hellos and a how are you??? In mid-sentence on another subject, Paul shared the news… I already knew…

Tears now streaming both our faces… I told him I had known days earlier… Despite our tears, we marveled again at our connection that despite the 2000mile separation, after 40 something years was as strong as ever…

Both lifelong Baltimore Orioles fans… Paul’s not a Facebook guy… So I looked forward to calling him Sunday from Target Field in Minnesota to say I was at the Orioles/Twins game…

And then it happened again… Checking the box scores a day earlier… Paul said, he had thought of the many hours we spent through the years… Playing, watching and talking baseball… A day later I called from the game…


Yeah, comics cry… But sometimes they are happy tears… Grateful for a friendship that has survived the challenges of distance and time to be as strong as ever…