An ordinary
Summer night
Sometime around 8 in the evening.
My buddy called me
To accompany him and his lady
To an amateur comedy show
At some bar downtown.
It had a clever name
I'm sure.
We got in
Found seats
Ordered drinks
As the show begins.
A couple comics came on
Then came off.
Some of them were funny.
Sort of.
And some of them
I just couldn't muster
Enough courtesy
To laugh at them.
Oh well.
I didn't pay for it.
And then the "announcer"
I guess you could call it
"Announced" a special surprise.
Mildly intrigued,
I sat up in my seat.
Hoping that maybe
Somebody here will
Make me laugh my ass off.
Paul was his name.
He lumbered out onto the stage.
His arm bent up to his chest,
Head cocked slightly to one side,
He spoke with the drawl
Of someone who was
Mentally retarded.
I didn't think
The "announcer" meant
This kind of special.
"How ya'll doin'??"
Falls out from the PA system.
An uncomfortable giggle
Waves through the crowd.
I watch intently
From the crowd
To the comedian.
Not yet sure
Who to feel sorry for.
Fearless
And happy
Paul began his skit.
His jokes
Were of the
"Why did the chicken cross the road?"
Variety.
To be brutally honest:
Not that funny.
Yet,
The people in the crowd.
They laughed.
More than they had at the others.
Some of them telling white lies.
Some of them being ignorant fucks.
I sat in the middle.
Astonished
And angry.
All at the same time.
I spotted one person
A woman
Sitting very front row.
Older in age.
Maybe late 50's.
Starry eyed
Like a 16 year old
At a Fall Out Boy concert.
Made her look
At least 30 years younger.
It seemed like
She was the only person
Who found his jokes
Truly funny.
Paul finished
His routine.
The room clapped
Somewhat politely.
The lady in front
Was the only one
Giving a standing ovation.
Paul pointed to the woman.
And in the proudest spirit
I had heard form a person
Declared her his mother.
"That's my momma right here!"
He announced.
Suddenly the room went silent.
Of course, no one knew
They were making fun
Of someone's child
In front of their
Very proud mother.
But she didn't care.
She clapped on anyway
And took back to her seat.
The rest of the show
Wasn't all that funny
At all, to anyone.
They all sat ashamed,
Embarrassed.
Mulling over
Their blunder.
I found Paul
After the show.
I shook his hand
Hugged his mother.
"He's hilarious, isn't he?"
Beamed Paul's mother.
I nodded and smiled.
"Sure is, I almost fell out of my seat!"
She smiled back
As if she knew
In the back of her mind
Her son's limitations.
But I applauded
For the first time that night.
Not at the comedy.
But at the sheer willingness
And pride from these two.
Paul's mother almost cried right then.
And for the rest of the night.
I was embarrassed
At humanity's true colors.
Some people
Have trouble finding fault in themselves.
So find fault in others instead.
And so it is proven
Through unintentional experiment
That people
Really are
Their own worst critics.
Author notes
This is another true story.. and I was aiming more for the storytelling kind of mood. I felt that the conclusion was a little weak.. but it was supposed to be light-hearted. A little different for me, I know, but I hope you enjoyed all the same.
Comments
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hey Wall, i know this is an alien style for you,
quite a lot of it reads like a voice recorded narration of a story that you were telling to your buddies...id say read it over a few times in your head and you`ll see where it doesn`t quite work..eg
beginning of fifth stanza, how does this sound,
Then the MC (or emcee) introduced
a special guest.....
the moral is good, which is the whole point,
how would i have reacted, to be honest i think comedians in general are unfunny assholes..this disabled kid would make anyone feel uncomfortable....a similar thing hapened to me last month, there was an open mic session in a hall here in Derry and a guy turned up dressed in tuxedo and suit, with a hat etc, looking like a stereotypical jazz performer...he tried to play his sax and he was terrible, there was obviously something wrong with his mind which became clear after he spoke...the audience just applauded politely when he had finished but it was excruciating to watch when you are not expecting it to happen...i wouldve just sat there and not laughed, then clapped him when he finished...what else can you do, pretend to laugh?
i would hate to think that anyone could shame an innocent person with a mental disability but it happens mainly due to ignorance and a willingness for those people to appear superior, of course it is merely a display of their own comical shortcomings...a good comic would not have made fun of the guy......
well done wall,
nice subject choice
rhet
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I really liked this one, and have no criticism to make of it at all.
I enjoyed the story and the telling of it...and the morality of it was well thought out and well written. Bravo
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I like the message....enjoyed the read but I felt it could have been shortened as some of the details were unnecessary and from my perspective didn't add much to the story. when writing narrative poetry I feel like it is best to cut everything down to just the meat of what you're trying to say....say it in as few words as possible, don't waste words....if you plan to expand upon what you're saying, it should be a short story not a poem.
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Truly and beautifully a narrative written for telling the side of a story looking into the eyes of another side to the story.
I love how you took a true story and placed into such vivid words. It created an image in my mind, and I yearned to see that smiles of each person's face. Wonderful job, Wall.
You have talent!
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