I'm NOT a number!!!

Well, folks we’re winding down the summer and planning on ending it with a bang…

This Friday night at 9pm, I’m in Redfield, NY at The Reservoir Inn with Tom Myers, Ron Bender and Eric Kirkland…

Thursday, August 27th at 930pm I’ll be appearing at Chet Wild’s Comedy Showcase at The Comedy Club in Webster, NY… A comedy extravaganza of 15 comics including the return of Mike “The Pickle” Dambra to the Rochester comedy scene… Welcome home, Mike!!!

Then Saturday, August 29th at 9pm, I’ll be in North Rose, NY at Waypoint with Mike Burns and Cal Verduchi…

These shows promise to be a great time and outstanding lead-in for the Steve “The Nuclear Guy” Expecting Criticality @ Anytime DVD Bash… Sunday, September 6th 730pm at The Comedy Club in Webster, NY…

We’ll be producing my first full length DVD… We’re planning on a three-camera shoot, with plenty of audience reaction shots… So come on out and be a part of it… With Host Dan Maslyn plus Special Guests Tizo Maduro and Tim Shea… This show is sure to be a Nuclear Holocaust of Laughter…

I know my recent posts have been nothing more than a regurgitating of my upcoming calendar… I admit the grind of the road had stifled some of my creative juices for coming up with anything new… Instead the times I might have had to write I was content to mindlessly surf the Internet…

But I’m learning to take inspiration from where ever I can find it…

Yesterday, I got some… Though not necessarily positive inspiration, I will say considering the source, it’s not surprising it’s of the negative variety… There’s just always going to be people who just take themselves a little too seriously… Luckily, for the rest of the world… God created comedians to make fun of these miserable bags of wind…

But for now I’ll digress to set the stage for you…

When first discussing a date for my DVD Bash, I picked September 6th since it was to be the day after my 35th High School Reunion… Many of my high school classmates would be returning to the Rochester area for the Labor Day Holiday Weekend to attend the reunion and hopefully the DVD Bash as well…

Creating an event on Classmates.com I began promoting the show right along side the upcoming reunion… I also sent emails to those classmates I had an active email address for…

A few weeks ago, while touring the Midwest… I received a mass email from the reunion organizers that due to poor response the reunion had been cancelled… At the time I postulated that since it was our 35th reunion maybe too many of us were already dead… Some I think have never learned to live…

A few days ago another mass email arrived stating that some classmates were organizing an un-official reunion for the same night Saturday, September 5th at a local establishment in Greece, NY… Great!!! I replied I would plan on attending, also forwarding to all recipients a reminder about my DVD Bash the following day…

This included an email address specifically set up for classmates to connect with each other… Per the email contained below explaining that to me…

“Please do not send any more such emails to this address. It was not set up to provide support for your side line, it was designed so classmates had a central place to maintain connection with.“

John C.

Well, as I stated earlier God created comedians to make fun of miserable bags of wind who have never learned to live… So let me remind you, John that… One, I am/was a classmate… Two, I was making a connection… Three, sideline is one word… Sister Mary Miserable must have missed your knuckles with her ruler the day we learned to spell that word… Three, it’s not a sideline… It’s how I make my living… I’ve been on tour all over the country… While you’ve been in Rochester obviously feeling bitter and rotten…

I’m not a doctor… I’m not the President, so I don’t play one on TV… But they say laughter is the best medicine and personally you sound like someone who could use a good laugh…

I spent more than 20 years working at a career I came to despise… Until finally realizing I could waste a whole lifetime trying to be what I thought was expected of me, but I’d never be free…

A new sense of freedom came banging on my door that day… From deep down inside me… From somewhere in my past… A dream reached out and grabbed my completely and I knew what meant… I was happy to find out, even though late… I wasn’t just a number…

Life is bright in front, now… The dark is behind… Livin’ for the now that’s between the bridges and the signs… There’s still a long way to go… But while others dream and wish… This everything I officially need to know… Am I happy??? You bet I am!!!

When was the last time you saw a smile??? There’s a scream on every silent face wanting to be free… I bring a smile to those faces each and every day!!!

So don’t tell me what I do is wrong… Don’t preach ‘cuz you don’t know… ‘Cuz I was left without a chance such a short time ago… And anything is better than being battered and bruised…

So revel in your Catholic guilt… It won’t buy you heaven while making your life a hell…

God has given me my dream and told me to follow Him where the ice is so thin… So I’m not slowing down… ‘Cuz every second counts…

Have a great day… Every one of mine are wonderful, I wish the same for everybody!!! It’s never too late to learn to live and even miserable bags of wind need love, too…

Love,
Steve

Road Blog

Ok, I’m going to try and get this written… It’s late and my eyes aren’t working too well… But I’ll try… I don’t even have a title for it yet and that’s usually what comes to me first…

Did the first night of an almost two week run of shows across the Midwest last night… After a 10and a half hour drive across western NY and the province of Ontario…I made it to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan… It’s funny what kind of things pop into your mind while you’re alone in the car for all that time…

Things came popping in and then out of my mouth while I was on stage that and it felt like damn that’s the way it’s supposed to happen… Luckily I was carrying a pen and paper… And quickly wrote them down when I got off stage…

I’m glad I’m not Amish… I spent ten and a half hours in the car to get here yesterday… I certainly don’t want to have to ever spend ten and a half hours in a buggy staring at a horse’s ass the whole way…

Yes, that’s the same thing my ex-wife said about being in the car with me…

Did the second show of this run tonight in Sault Ste. Marie… I’m pretty far north… Saw lots of signs that said, “Bridge may be icy.” No, shit!!! We know the roads are icy this far north in the wintertime… Despite the warnings of the global warming alarmists… I’m convinced they put those signs up to warn drivers about the chance of ice up here the rest of the year!!!

Okay, I’m not going to tell you all my new jokes… Come see a show!!!

Friday night is a travel night and I’m looking forward to my stop in Green Bay to see my sister in-law… My wife just visited last month… We’ll teach her to skip the family picnic again!!!

Well, I’m sitting on her front porch locked out of the house… She’s still at work… It’s raining but it’s a covered porch and comfortable… I’ll give her some shit about later… She was my favorite sister in-law after all…

Saturday night I’ll be in Milwaukee for two shows and I’m looking forward to meeting some other Natarelli’s… Contacted on facebook by someone with the same last name, we can’t figure out if we’re related… I don’t think so… But they are coming to the early show Saturday night… That’s kind of cool…

I’m working with a comic who grew up in Milwaukee, but who lives in Las Vegas now… Kathleen Dunbar… Very funny lady and she’s also picked us up another show for Sunday evening in southern Wisconsin with a comic friend of hers who books a room there… He asked her if she could bring a feature and I just happen to be open… Got to like it when that happens!!!

Still waiting to hear if I will get a spot on the Monday Zanies Showcase in Chicago…

Next Wednesday and Thursday I’ll be at Bogey’s in Cleveland for the Pro/Am night Wednesday and a guest spot Thursday… Couldn’t drive home through Cleveland without a stop there… If all goes well, it’ll mean real work there…

There are two up coming local shows in August… Friday the 21st at The Reservoir Inn in Redfield with Tom Myers, Ron Bender (both coming up from the Baltimore area) and Eric Kirkland coming in from Ohio… And Saturday the 29th at Waypoint Fine Food and Dining in North Rose with Syracuse’s own Mike Burns and New Jersey’s Cal Verduchi…

The summer will be wrapped up with a bang Labor Day weekend… I won’t be attending the second show at Jericho Joe’s Roadhouse in Chateaugay, NY… But I’ve booked them a kick ass show with Feature Mike “Mack” McKenna and Headliner Rick Carino, both from Connecticut… They are bringing along Sean Moran to act as MC and a bunch of their friends for the show…

I had hoped to be attending my 35th HS Reunion the following day, but that’s been cancelled… I hope it doesn’t mean too many of us are already dead…

Sunday September 6th I’ll be taping my first full length DVD “Expecting Criticality at Anytime” at The Comedy Club in Webster, NY… With MC Dan Maslyn, Ralph Teeta had originally been planning on being a part of this show, but a schedule change finds him replaced by Tizo Maduro and one other comic to fill in time and invite many friends before I headline the show.
The following Sunday I’ll be hosting a benefit for AIDS Rochester at The Comedy Club with Headliner and Bette Midler impersonator Donna Maxon, Cher impersonator Steven Andrade and Samantha Vega as Tina Turner… A good cause and a really interesting and fun evening it should be…

Sitting back reading this though I am left feeling I could have just posted my calendar…

Sorry it’s not more creative… Needless to say we’ve been busy… This years LUAU was another great success and Eileen and I have just celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary… Taking advantage of a cancellation that weekend we took in the Bob Nelson show at The Comedy Club… Reliving what turned out to be our first date at the old Comix Café… It was a night of good, hard and clean belly laughs… Bob is truly an amazing performer.

It was great to see family and friends turn out for the LUAU especially some of the smiling faces I’ve missed from the R. E. Ginna Nuclear power plant… Mary and Sean visiting from NYC and another sister in-law visiting from California…

Thanks to everyone who showed up to help make it a success…A special kudos to Ralph Tetta for his marathon man driving prowess to make it back into town on time to get him and his family out to the party… You can check his blog for that story…

Okay, my battery is almost dead as I still sit on the front porch apparently stealing a wireless signal from somewhere… So I better get this posted…

See ya!!!

One Day on the Farm...

One spring day as a farmer was loading his prize ewe into the back of his truck, his young son asked him what he intended to do. Recognizing this as an opportunity for one of life's lessons, the farmer explained, "Well, Jimmy, the farmer down the road has a prize ram. So I'm taking the ewe there to get it served." Still too young to fully understand, Jimmy said,"OK dad, thanks."

A few days later the farmer was loading a cow into the back of the truck, when little Jimmy happened by again. "Where you taking the cow dad?" asked Jimmy. "The farmer down the road has a prize bull, so I'm taking the cow there to be served."

Again this satisfied Jimmy's curiosity and he happily ran off to shoot porcupines.

Once again a few days later while the farmer was loading his sow into the truck, Jimmy asked again. "Where ya goin' now, dad?" He answered, "The farmer across town has a prize boar and I'm taking the sow to be served."

Finally Jimmy asked "What's that all mean, dad?" So the farmer sat down in the barnyard and explained all the facts of life to little Jimmy. When he finished, he asked, "So now do you have anymore questions."

To which little Jimmy replied, "So when a politician says, "Send me to Washington to serve you." Now I know what he really means!!!"

Sensitive Mentoring

Another Oldie, but Goodie... I had forgotten I wrote... Finding a link to www.togetherweserved.com on facebook the other day... I signed up and posted a profile with service dates and locations, etc... Today I received this email... It was a nice surprise.

Steve

I was one of your students in 1985 ... I was thrown out of checkouts, run time, and interviews with you more than once or twice. But you never gave up on me ... THANK YOU!

MCPO(Ret)

I removed the name, for those that don't know the designation is Master Chief Petty Officer (Retired)... He did 22years...

He's not the subject of this story, but it probably occured during the same time frame...

Nostalgia, sometimes it's funny when it strikes. Since everyone I work with on a fairly regular basis has the same ex-Navy background, there are many of us who also shared duty stations together. So the stories are very regularly preceded with " Do you remember when…?".

Having been at this job now for more than 18 years, one accumulates a good deal of what is known as "tribal knowledge". It's the knowledge of experience and a lot of it's been learned the "hard way".

Part of an aging work force, we are now being asked to train some new employees. Fresh out of a six year hitch in the Navy, they're in their fuzzy faced mid-twenties. Young enough to be sons to some of us who have been here for a while. But I think that sounds better than saying, some of us are old enough to be their dad.

Corporate buzz words also being a big thing these days, "training" has been replaced with "coaching". Reflecting better the "kinder & gentler" training model that is used these days. "Coddling" might sometimes be a better description, though that may betray the dry and crusty sea salt that still flavors my way of doing things.

I spent some time coaching this evening within ear shot of another almost as old, "old salt". Dave sat mesmerized as he listened me to coach a new member of the operations department. As I glanced up at him silently taking it all in, I knew what he was thinking. A smile crossed both our faces as he said to the new operator, "I remember when Steve coached me. He wasn't this nice, then."

Laughing, he shared the now more than 20 year old story. We were both still in the Navy, I had spent four years aboard a submarine in San Diego and had returned to the Nuclear Power Training Unit in Ballston Spa, NY as an instructor. Dave was one of my students, 19 years old and full of himself.

Coming to see me one day to discuss the operation of a shipboard steam system, I started by asking him to draw a working diagram of the system. Moving on to various components and their respective functions and finally to their location in the plant. We would have gone on past that, but this is where Dave needed some "coaching".

Where's valve AS-12? I asked.

"Right here, I labeled it", Dave answered confidently.

"No shit. Where is it in the plant?"

"I don't need to know that", Dave answered defiantly.

"Don't tell me what you need to know and what you don't!"

"But it's not in my qual standard, I don't need to know that", Dave added somewhat defensively.

"My f-in' signature isn't in there yet, either and it won't be until you come back here with the g-ddamn answers! Now get the hell out of here and find them. I have to go back to sea when I leave here and some moron like you isn't going to get me killed, when I get there!"

Twenty some years later, we laugh now remembering the hail of chalk and erasers that chased him from the room.

"You're getting too old for this, Steve".

Almost a month and a half into these 12hour midnight shifts, all I could do was agree. "I know am, Dave. I know. Now shut the f-up!" I said as we laughed. "You'll make the kid think I was being easy on him."

Welcome Aboard

Another Oldie, but Goodie... One of the first things I ever wrote...

My thoughts often drift back to my years in the US NAVY and serving aboard fast attack submarines.

I am repeatedly asked to describe the life aboard a submarine. Since there were no embedded reporters, "Losing their tan, off the coast of Iran", I thought I'd write this column. As a tribute to those who shared this experience with me and to those who have followed. I hope that as they read this they can chuckle along with me as the memories come flooding back. (Maybe flooding isn't the word I want to use in a submarine story).

Many who have experienced submarine life would say (and there are times I'd have to agree) that it's not a life. Others might say that it's extreme boredom punctuated by moments of shear terror. It's during this time that you watch the "This is Your Life" video pass before your eyes in fast forward. These are the times that with almost no thought, but as a result of repeated practice and drill you react to the situation at hand. Albeit fire, flooding (there's that word again) or a power plant casualty. Only after the adrenalin begins to wear off, do you realize that you almost died. These stressful moments become the source of some quality "gallows humor" as a means to deal with the stress and boredom.

I don't want you, the reader, to think it was all bad and I don't want to write this as an embedded reporter. I wish to write this, so that you, the reader can experience a taste of this salty adventure as a new crew member. So come aboard with me shipmates, and let me be the first to say, "Welcome Aboard"!

As we cross from the pier to the boat let me take this opportunity to explain that a ship is a ship, but a submarine is a boat. This being a hold over from the German U-boat terminology.

We're standing topside now staring down the main hatch and at the ladder bolted to the wall below the hatch. Before you begin to descend fill your lungs completely with a deep breath of fresh air and look straight up. This is your last breath of completely fresh air and your last look at the sky for the next sixty days.

As we reach the bottom of the ladder and proceed forward you begin to become aware of your new surroundings. The first is the ever present and distinct odor that permeates everything and everyone on board. It's a mixture of diesel exhaust, lube oil, food, sweat, cigarette smoke, grease, salt water and trash. Yes, a regular "eau de toilet water" kind of smell. (I think submarine air comes from France).

Remember that description and you'll understand why people are looking at you funny when we get to our first liberty port.

We continue to go forward, down another deck and through a water tight door, we are now in the bow compartment of the boat. Here we'll assign you your rack (this is your bed). It's approximately six feet long, three feet wide and three feet high, with a reading light, an air conditioning vent and a curtain for privacy. That sea bag you're carrying with all your worldly possessions in it, gets unpacked and stowed in the three inch deep bed pan that is the length and width of your rack. And since you're new on board, you get to share these luxury accommodations with one, maybe two other people.

The good news is that you'll probably rarely get to sleep anyway until your qualification cards are completed. These earn you the right to proudly wear your silver dolphins pin(the symbol of the submarine service) with your uniform. It also earns you a seat at the evening movie, until then though you're on the "dink" (delinquent) list.

Well, before you get to work let us go to the mess decks for the evening meal. Of course we'll have to stand in line for these culinary delights. I hear they're serving fried chicken that tastes like shrimp, because they never change the grease in the deep fat fryer. We get to wash it all down with "bug juice",the navy's brand of high potency kool-aid. It's so full of ascorbic acid that it's also used to clean the grill and the toilets. Bon appetite,shipmate!

As an added bonus the "doc" is waiting at the head of the line to make sure we're all up to date on our shots. I haven't decided yet if it's because we're going overseas or to protect us from the food.

We'll skip ahead now on this adventure story. We've left port, we're underway now and you've poured coffee all over yourself upon hearing the diving alarm for the first time.(2 blasts on the loudest "uh-ga" horn you've ever heard, followed by the announcement of "dive,dive"). Now you experience the same anxiety felt by every new crew member the first time you realize that this is what submarine life is all about. You're underway, hundreds of feet below the surface and if something happens, you can't escape and there is no rescue.

Your crusty old chief (Me) has sensed your tension and shared the "two key secrets of a successful submariner". The first is so profound that you're amazed at its wisdom.

"Son", say the chief, "We want to keep the water out of the people tank". You're speechless at the wisdom of that statement and at the fact that the chief seems to love being asea. "Maybe he's just confused", you think, after all you certainly are. You're wondering, "What the hell am I doing here?" As he continues to try to ease your fears, he shares the second secret of submarine life. It may take some higher math skills to understand this, but thank God for our public school system. "The second secret", says the chief, "is to make sure the number of dives equals the number of surfaces" You thank the chief for sharing those with you and silently vow to get the hell out of the navy before you end up like him.

We've been out at sea now for a few weeks and the closeness of the quarters is beginning to wear on you. There are few places on board where you can stretch your arms straight out and not touch something in a 360degree circle. When you find one, you're reminded of your surroundings by the fact that something is in the overhead just inches from your head.

You're standing your watches in the engine room, the hottest, sweatiest, oiliest place on the boat. Six hours on watch, twelve hours off during which time maintenance, cleaning and training, etc. get done. Notice that sleeping is not on that list.

The evaporator, which is used to make fresh water from sea water has been secured for weeks now because it makes too much noise. The trash compactor and overboard trash disposal unit is also secured and all trash is bagged and stored in the engine room, your watch station. (Stealth is important in this business).

Unfortunately when the evaporator is secured so are the showers. This is not good when you have to share a rack with someone. At least everyone smells the same, but twice already in the few moments you've been able to sleep, you've woken up wondering "What the hell stinks?" only to realize it's you!

You're developing a taste for navy chow and continue to be amazed at the creativity of the boats cooks. You've even won some awards for correctly identifying the "mystery meat of the day".

You've settled into the routine of the days, even though you don't know what day it really is. You've stopped wondering what the weather is like back home, but hope that there is some mail waiting for you at the first liberty port.

As the boredom builds the tension does also. You're starved for entertainment and read Louis LaMour novels as fast as possible. All the time imagining yourself in the story and the wide, open spaces of the American West. The days slowly go by as you begin to think about how good an ice, cold beer and some real food will taste.
Then one day you hear, "surface, surface, surface"!!! A short time later you're out in town, and yes the locals think you smell. Hey, you do smell! But the beer is cold and God bless McDonalds there's real food almost everywhere in the world.

The tension that was building slowly goes away and before you know it, it's the next day and you're trying to explain why you and some of your shipmates got into trouble out in town. A couple of more days like that and you'll be glad to be back to sea, you'll need the rest!

A week or so later you're out to sea again. But, now you're not the new man on board since some new crewmembers reported during the port call. The cycle continues until six months later you finally return home. It's great to be home, but you feel like Rip Van Winkle. The world continued without you, the whole time you were gone. There are new songs on the radio, new shows on TV, it was summer when you left, its Christmas time now. The car you left parked on base has become a seagull roost and the paint job is ruined.

The next day you take the motorcycle out and ride, ride, ride, up over the mountains and east into the desert. Ride with the wind in your face and no one around. Ride until the closed in feeling is gone and you feel like being around other people again. As time goes on, these trips will get longer and longer, sometimes even requiring a night of camping alone in the southern California desert.

Then comes the day, the day it's all over. The day you walk off that base for the last time knowing you never have to go back, you experience a feeling like none other. Then you're left with the memories that mellow with time… Memories of maybe "the worst of times" and certainly of the "best of times". Memories of youth and of friends now scattered across the country. Then you hope they see this story and they remember also, as you raise your glass and say "this ones for you, shipmate"!!!

Mornin' Wood, you like to come in???

An oldie, but goodie... I wrote this ditty probably ten years ago... While still working shift work at the nuclear power plant...

'Twas the day after midnights, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, the cat caught the mouse;

The clothes were all hung on a chair,
In hopes that laundry day soon would be there;

Nestled we were, all snug in our bed,
While visions of cool breezes danced in our heads;

Me in my skivies,
but holy they weren't,
since Wal-Mart had a sale 3 pair for a five,
and Jack in his collar,
I awoke with a holler,
When out on the porch there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what the F@#$ was the matter.

Away to the door I stumbled slowly,
Totally unready for the sight before me,
As I opened the door, what should appear,
But a miniature old lady with big blue hair,
With a sales pitch so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment see was looking at my "Rick",

So I said with a grin,
Mornin' Wood, you like to come in?

She said If you're sleeping, you should put up a sign.
I asked Are you blind?
It seems plain to me,
and says Private Property!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!
And don't come back in the fall,
Jehovah she witnessed,
But the wrath of God they'll see,
If they come back here at all,
I shut the door tightly,
and said I've got to pee.

A Vicadin Headache Moment

With the launch, yesterday of “Views from my Hammock” The Official Blog Page of Steve “The Nuclear Guy”… It’s certainly past time to write something new…

Being a comic, I probably should be writing something funny… While there’s the “in the moment” nirvana that we experience when everything is right… There’s “The Vicadin Headache” moments… The times when we just don’t feel funny and comedy nirvana seems like something that we’ve only dreamed about…

Though finally acknowledging my need for something stronger than a handful of Advil today, I had been fighting that mood for days…

Driving 4.5 hours Friday excited to be opening a new room with the help of comedy buddy Denis Donohue who drove 6 hours up from NYC… A small town crowd of 109 reservations turned into a well-attended first show of 78 despite some torrential downpours… But I left disappointed with my own performance, despite acknowledgements from the audience members who could hear it that they enjoyed it… Maybe I’m a purist, who isn’t just happy with the fact that I get paid to tell jokes for a living whether all or only a portion of the audience is listening…

I left amazed at the rudeness people can exhibit sometimes… Though unfortunately, I feel lately it’s more often than sometimes… People who having paid for tickets to see and HEAR a show… Then sit in the back and basically have their own show of LOUD conversation and occasional shouts of unintelligible, incoherent, bullshit totally unrelated to the subject matter being presented from stage… Granted alcohol plays a huge part in this type of behavior, but for the most part I am well past beginning to believe stems from the conscious decision not to give a shit about anyone, but themselves…

Despite being asked numerous times by audience members walking from the front of the room to the back to ask them to be quiet… The din of conversation in the room was not the “in the moment” nirvana I had hoped for…

Deciding not to spend Friday night in the hotel, I drove 4.5 hours home, in the rain, so as not to waste the July 4th holiday on the road… Ruminating on this the whole way home…

The upside is we’ve got two additional shows booked there… One in September and one next February… There’s a ton of potential there and I hope with some work we can produce the kind of show I’d be proud of…

Enjoying the weekend home, we spent sometime Sunday at Sodus Point, listening to live music and having some beers and dinner on the outdoor deck of a local establishment… It had finally warmed up and stopped raining long enough to get out for that…

Yesterday I launched my new blog site and turned my attention to getting ready for this weekends upcoming trip to Vermont with comedy buddies Ralph Tetta and Linda Belt… Shows that had been booked since last January… When I received an email from the venue stating that ticket sales were low and asking me for my opinion…

Well, my opinion was that losing a weekend of income was not an option… Another not “in the moment” moment from the business side of the comedy business… I wasn’t feeling especially upbeat or funny as Eileen and I headed out to Danny Liberto’s open mic last night… It was just what I needed at the time to get my comedy juices flowing again… Proving again that comedy and laughter are the best medicine…

The reality of possibly losing a weekend of pay still loomed though this morning and the dull throb of a “Vicadin Headache” moment began as I took my morning walk with the boys… Having a late breakfast I finally reached for something stronger… But the even better medicine is that after some renegotiations we’re doing one show Saturday instead of the original Friday and Saturday… At least we won’t lose the whole weekend… And Ralph and I still get to spend 6 hours in the car together each way…

Eileen leaves tomorrow for a book signing in Green Bay, Wisconsin this weekend and we’re both hoping she doesn’t get snowed in… All the global warming we’ve haven’t experienced this summer has us a little worried though…

Tomorrow night another open mic and Thursday I’m heading to The Comedy Club in Webster to see a comedy buddy from Maine, Tim Hofmann will be appearing there all weekend. If you are looking for something to do stop in for a show… Tim and I will be appearing in Manchester, Vermont together July 19th at a restaurant called “The Perfect Wife”… I never knew one existed, but then I married Eileen… Awwwwwww… OK, enough of that shit… I said it for you!!!

Tim and I will also be appearing together in Maine the end of July and early August… I’m looking forward to it.

So the view from my hammock today, though cloudy, has sunshine, smooth seas, following breezes and a witty blog on the horizon…