I Want To Tell You

I Want To Tell You                                               964

Wednesday, May 11, 2005-5:22 P.M.

Well, the Spring pollen/allergy season has officially kicked my ass.  After taking cold remedy after cold remedy, the only relief has come through bedrest and liquids.  It's quite a balancing act for one such as myself, teetering on the brink of Type II diabetes, to decide whether or not the glass of orange juice is a good thing or a bad thing.  Alas, in all things, err on the side of caution, and drink plenty of good, clean water.

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to receive a communication from Janet George, the GM at the Funny Bone in South Bend, Indiana.  I got a return date there after almost a two-year hiatus.  I'm happy to return, because it's an A room, and while I enjoy working the comedy rooms that I do, it's a lot of sideways work that really doesn't help me move up the ladder.

Also, the last time I was in South Bend, I inadvertently hurt the feelings of one of my good friends, and turned some of the folks in the club off by my words.  I thought I was helping, when in fact, my help wasn't solicited and I just came off as overbearing.  I have had a history of problems in this area, where I just can't leave well enough alone, and worse yet, butt in where I'm not needed or invited.  In my heart, I mean well, but also I think it's a situation where I feel like I have to "help" so people will like me.  It's a tendency that I've tried to work on, and with the help of a professional counselor, I've learned to cool my jets.

This booking, coupled with the other booking in Myrtle Beach, now leaves me with six weekends in 2005 with no work on the calendar.  Four of the weekends are holidays, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve.  I may or may not want to work those weeks, so I'm still pursuing dates, but not aggressively.  I may need the time at home to bond with my family and recharge my batteries, even at the expense of a week's pay.  Still, the old, driven way of thinking is make the money while I can, and sit back and rest when there's no other choice.  But that is the mantra of the old, bitter comics who have been in this business way longer than I have, and I think somewhere along the line, I need to break the chain.  I remember working with a comic last year who had another comic come in and fill in for him on the Friday, and I asked him why, and he said that he was going to his daughter's dance recital.  He missed too many of them while she was younger, and he regretted it.  I don't want to ever be in that situation.  It's hard enough to be away from my daughter (and wife) for four days a week, the holidays make it even more gut-wrenching.

Memorial Day is coming up, and even though it is a day set aside to remember our men and women of the armed services and the sacrifices they made, take advantage of the day off to connect with your family, the small set of people on this big planet who share your lineage, your blood, and hopefully, your heart.

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY