Pasta, Hobby Lobby, & Kool Aid

I ended up in Cleveland last month, impromptu trip. My Italian grandmother was very sick. She’s 94. If I cooked every night, I would think of her more often, because I have her pots and pans that she bought over 50 years ago. I once calculated that if she made pasta every Sunday for 50 years straight, those pots and pans would have seen 4.293 tons of flour, 35,908 tomatoes, and the eggs from 6902 chickens go through them. Sometimes even I’m surprised at just how complete my OCD is.

I had a great couple of shows in Ocala and Lady Lake last weekend. I love Club Zanzibar in Ocala. The bar maids wear outfits so skimpy that they make the girls at Hooters look like they're wearing mumus. I had a fun lunch with Tony Gaud, a Tampa headliner on his way. He was headlining at the other comedy club in Ocala that same weekend. I shared the stage with 2 great comics, Mike Allen and Sonya White. Mike Allen and I had a blast at The Hobby Lobby in Ocala. It's like a Michaels and Pier One Imports on STERIODS. Turning your spare bedroom into a meth lab? Everything you need is at The Hobby Lobby. On Sunday, I spent the day at Silver Springs, then headed to The Villages in Lady Lake. I liked Lady Lake, but I kept getting the feeling The Villages is one pitcher of Kool-Aid short of a cult. No less than 3 people REALLY wanted to tell me about The Villages, the world's largest retirement village and micro-economy (according to the local radio personality, who works for the radio station owned by The Villages). Hey Kool-Aid! Oh YEAH! The comedy club was emceed by The Godfather. I don't know his name, he's just The Godfather. Or Elvis. I wasn't sure. Sonya White, who does great impressions (though not a Godfather or Elvis impression), was taking a break from her Southern Fried Chicks tour. She's a real pro. I'm very seldom booked with other female comics, so working with her was a real treat.

This weekend I have a show at the East Village Cabaret which I’m looking forward to, followed by a show in Tallahassee with The Disgruntled Clown. Check out his website at http://www.disgruntledclown.com/

Next month – is a biggie. I travel to Fort Wayne, IN, thanks to Al Ernst, who I worked with on the radio show. A TV credit is in my future there, on Night Shift with Kevin Ferguson. Woohoo! I also have shows in Clermont, Sanford, Altamonte Springs, Lakeland, and Daytona. While I am looking forward to my adventures on the road, I know I will miss my husband, Mike, and my pets. Ok, I won't miss Fred, the psycho blue and gold macaw. And I won't miss that part where my one of my cats throws up on the bed every other morning. But I'll definitely miss my husband.

Follow up to “I Killed”

2 weeks after I wrote the blog, my SCRABBLE friend and her daughter showed up at the next SCRABBLE meeting. The daughter, was wearing my shirt, that says “That which does not kill me only continues to piss me off.”
I forgot that I had sold my friend’s husband one of those shirts. He bought it for his daughter, for her upcoming birthday. Her birthday had come and gone in the last 2 weeks, and her mother presented her with the shirt that her father had bought for her. I had someone take a picture of us for my myspace site, and sent her a copy of the picture with a link to the blog.

I didn’t hear back from her for several weeks.

When she did finally read the blog, she said she was touched, and asked if they could read part of it at the memorial service. Of course!