44 Years Young

Today is in fact my birthday. Thank you to all the posters who, at the behest of Ms Stapler, came over to wish me well, and more vocally, remind me that my girlfriend is one lovely lady. Thanks, gals!

I once spent my birthday in the emergency room in Fairfield, California having had a vasal vagel attack at about 2 in the morning. Later that day, I met Ms Stapler in person for the first time [what a cutie!].

I once dated a girl with the same birthday [different year by 2 or 3 years, if I remember correctly.]

I used to go to Denny's on my birthday, as you would get a free meal. I am pretty certain I did this on my 30th birthday in 1993 when I lived in Davis, California. I became a lawyer that week. Lucky me! Lucky world!

The best birthday present I ever got was tickets to see Rosanne Cash [this would have been around 1988]. The worst present I ever got was a space heater [around 1979.]

I did in fact get some cool stuff this year ... gf gave me a hair dryer [my waggish friends would say "what for? the dog?], some man-grooming products, and a book. My brother gave me the aforementioned [earlier blog] gift card for LL Bean. My dad gave me the gift card for Home Depot. My sister gave me a DVD of "The Cable Guy" which is not the same thing as a DVD of this guy, thank God. So, pretty neat birthday. I certainly appreciate all the swag.

But what I really like is to see everyone, especially all the folks who rarely come around [Et tu, Joe C?] So I have a yearly birthday get-together where we go out to Louisa's and then off to my favorite evening activity, other than rifling through strangers' possessions, the Groundlings.

I could go on and on and on and on, and then on a little more about how much I love and admire the Groundlings. So many wonderfully conceptualized skits come to mind. Steve Little and Kent Sublette doing a gay-casting couch skit, with Steve literally bawling hysterically as he realizes that the audition is not going as planned [while stripping down to his tighty-whiteys]. Anything with the delightful and devious Mitch Silpa in it. Nat Faxon and Hugh Davidson as two guys in a pick-up bar; Nat's costume moustache falls off accidentally, Hugh points it out, and Nat recovers perfectly by deadpanning "I wore it because I thought it made me look older." Jim Rash's brilliant "Run, Needleman, Run" where a petty criminal uproots his family due constantly due to his inability to leave the coffee fund alone.

In short, when you see these people perform these skits, you gain an appreciation for the artistry of comedy. The brilliant mix of bravery, subversiveness, intelligence and just a fascinating esteem for humanity that comes through. These people are my heroes [Not to be confused with Stephen Colbert's "the heroes."]

What I'm saying is ... if you are ever in LA, you must see the Groundlings. It will improve your life.

For a taste of their genius, see the work of Mitch Silpa [as creepy street magician David Blaine] here.