Legs

Legs                         8472  (1692)

Sunday, July 22, 2007-1:30 CDT

It's always nice to get a new club in under my belt, and when it's a headlining spot, that makes it all the sweeter.

I finished up the weekend at the South Street Comedy Club in Jackson, Tennessee, a town that sits halfway between Memphis and Nashville.  I brought one Ray Salah along for the ride, and we had quite a time.

I rented a car as my family vehicle was in the shop...Hertz kindly provided a Jeep Wrangler, a gas-guzzling affair with windows that zipper up; not a very good choice for securing valuables on a road trip 900 miles away from home.

Ray and I hit the road around 8:30 on Thursday night, and I made the drive in one take, no dubs, with only two stops for gas (rentals start with a full tank).  Friday was spent mostly sleeping and then preparing for the show at South Street, a late one going off at 9:30, which to my East-coast internal clock, was really 10:30.  After 14 hours in the car, I could only manage three hours of sleep, and my set was good, but exhausting after the physical exertion I put my body through in the past day.

The highlight of the day, aside from the show, had to be our dinner at Ryan's, a buffet-style joint that's popular in the middle of the country.  Ray is prematurely grey, as many men of Lebanese descent turn, and the lady at the cash register at Ryan's gave Ray the senior citizen's discount.  When we discovered that at the table, examining the register receipt, Ray had mixed emotions; he was happy to have the discount, but just a little pissed that the cashier thought he was old.  The food was good though, and we had a good laugh about it, and went back on Saturday for a replay.  All-you-can-eat steak is a good sell, no matter who you are.

I used the hotel pool today, and I haven't been much of a swimmer in my adult life, and today I showed how out of shape and out of practice I am.  I tried swimming the length of the pool underwater, and wound up getting a leg cramp.  I have conditioning issues, that's for sure, but after the cramp subsided, it was nice to have some excercise and get a little sun.  It was my driving leg, and that's the calf that gets all the work most of the time, so I was a little surprised that that was the one that gave out.

Next week is a week off at home with Pam and Harmony, and I'm enjoying having some Summertime off and spending it with the wife and munchkin.  I hope to take Harmony to Seabreeze or Darien Lake this week and win her a big stuffed animal in one of the game joints....I worked for three summers at Seabreeze and know the tricks to winning all the games.  I hope no one recognizes me, that would spoil the fun!  A little tip to all my faithful readers....if you're playing a game where you have to throw a beanbag, let someone short do it, or get down on your knees when you throw...you can't throw straight or at a downward angle and get the bottles off the pedestal, but a little kid can do it.  The problem is, no one ever lets the kid throw the beanbag, because they automatically assume the kid can't do it.

So tomorrow it's another 14 hours drive home, but that's what comedy is all about.  I made some new friends, broke open a new room, and got a couple of new shows on tape.  I wrote some new material, and got to spend time with one of my oldest friends and you can't put a value on that.

See you at NFL training camp, where I'll be the one with the taped-up leg and sitting on my helmet.

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY