Blood Sugar Sex Majik

Blood Sugar Sex Majik          4454  (304)

Sunday, April 23, 2006-2:00 A.M. CDT

Well, I'm gearing up for the big drive home.  The problem with long drives is that everyone has their own opinion of how long it's gonna take.  Around here, the big burgs that people get headed to are Minneapolis/St. Paul and Chicago.  My guess is that Chicago is 10 hours from here, and about 10 hours from home (counting the time difference from Central to Eastern Time).

Friday night, we had two good shows.  Al got a standing ovation in Grand Forks, but they had lead in their asses in Fargo/Moorehead.  I had two really good shows, Courtneys' comedy club is a nice room in a small town, and with a little promotion, they could really build it up into a professional room.  As it stands, I got middle money that trumps most of the middle pay that I work for, so I'm not complaining.

Today, I had blood sugar problems, and for a little while, I thought I was dead.  My hands and feet were cold and numb and I thought I had low blood sugar, so in my delerious state, I ate a pack of sugar and then tested my blood sugar, and come to find out it was high.  I called Al in a panic (he has sugar issues, too) and he suggested to go to the workout room and sweat it out.  I did 20 minutes on the treadmill, and my blood sugar started coming down.  By showtime, 8:00 P.M., I was exhausted, but ready to go on stage.  I did a by-the-numbers set first show, and then some folks stuck around for the second show, and it was a little sparse, so I opened up, tried some new things, and closed with a new bit that I wrote but never tried on stage before...it was risky, but they loved it, even though it was political in nature, and I was worried about red-state backlash.  One old guy looked down and away, but all the younger people keyed in and it got an applause break.  It's staying in the set!  Now I have the problem that I have too much material and not enough time to do it night after night.

I have a 7:30 A.M. wake-up call, which is 8:30 east coast time, so I ought to get home at like 4:00 in the morning Sunday going into Monday.  Pammey put Harmony on the phone and she talked to me between shows, and I ached like I never did to be home.  The drive tomorrow should go quick, with that carrot dangling in front of me.  Whether the car will cooperate and get me home is up to question, but I'll try it and take it as far as it goes.  I got a feeling it's gonna make it, the weather is pretty cool so there's not much chance of overd-heating or any of that bad stuff, and not having AC isn't an issue, either.

Next week is my return to Traverse City, Michigan, and a cancer benefit on Sunday in Battle Creek.  It's gonna be nice playing closer to home, but I really enjoyed my trip to Minnesota.

Have a safe weekend, and hope you get where you're going safe and sound.

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY