10.28.09
Comedy That’s Gone to the Dogs (and Cats)
I picked up my kitten at the vet’s office today. It was the usual scene in the office waiting room. A woman with her three little daughters, there to pick up their two kittens who got spayed today. Several people with their dogs on leashes. One of the receptionists talked to the FedEx guy. And there was an older couple with their dog they called “Sandy”. It was a short dog with fluffy hair (I’m not a dog person, so I have no idea the breed).
It was a microcosm not just of life but of my clean comedy shows.
People often ask me, “What IS ‘clean comedy’? Does that mean you’ll be doing housework and tidying up after the show?” (Or, if the show is in Western PA, they ask if I’ll “red up”.) They wonder if it means that I’m off drugs. Some people assume I will discuss whether Ivory Soap is better than shower gel.
Clean comedy is comedy that applies to and appeals to the typical vet’s office scene. Families with young children can’t easily attend a comedy show with adult themed jokes. If they do want to hear comedy, they have to find a baby-sitter, get home on time, pay the sitter, etc.
Some professionals can’t be seen laughing at certain jokes that are told in comedy clubs. People we see on a daily basis, like the FedEx guy–would their opinion of us change if they knew what makes us laugh? Our image is a fragile thing. Like trust, it takes a lifetime to build, and a fraction of a second to decimate.
But maybe the people today who are most like my audience are the older couple. Not their age, but their story. The vet technician came out to talk to the couple. “We’ll get her settled for the night,” she told the man. I thought, “It’s probably some surgery for dogs.” I saw the woman take the dog’s face in her hands, and kiss him in the nose. She wiped her nose with a kleenex. I noticed she was crying.
That’s when it hit me: they were probably going through what I went through last Spring with my Scendi. I brought him to the vet’s office on a Sunday afternoon when he suddenly threw an embolysm and got paralyzed. I knew what her kiss meant. She would never see her dog again.
So what’s so funny about THAT? You’re probably crying just reading this. I am. But those are exactly the people who need clean comedy. They appreciate humor that doesn’t offend them. Jokes that they aren’t embarrassed to laugh at. Comedy that builds connections with people and distracts them from kissing their pets goodbye.
This kind of comedy reminds us that there is hope. Things will get better. Other pets will come into our lives just like little Maestro who I was waiting for at the vet’s office.
Clean comedy wipes away the tears, clears the smut, and shines us into people who Live Life–Lite!
