Trail of the Firewriter…
2010 Road Trip: Day Fifty-five

I exercised, showered, and hustled over to the Venetian Hotel/Casino. Sharon, my daughter, was going home and I promised to drive her to the airport. I left my car in the self parking area and plunged into a crowded labyrinth of corridors, shopping areas, and restaurants. I was lost immediately. When I asked directions I found the people I talked to were also lost. I asked an attractive young lady how to get to the hotel lobby. “Before I tell you, I want you to look at this dress,” she replied. Her name was Moona. She had a small stand and was selling a new type dress. She demonstrated how the dress could be changed from casual to evening wear by rewrapping it on your body. I told her she was too late to sell me a dress. I needed one when I was passing through New Orleans during Mardi Gras. I eventually found my daughter and delivered her to the airport. I am going to miss her. I had fun with Sharon and Brian over the weekend.

I spent the rest of the day at the poker table. One of the players was an engineer working on the F-35, which is America’s latest jet fighter. He was an interesting man. He described the amazing things our new plane could do. He was also a good poker player. I won $300. I am glad I quit playing tournaments. The pay offs are bigger but the odds of winning are slimmer.
Around 7PM I walked into the Comedy Club to watch the Coasters rehearse for their gig next week. I met Marie Wilson of the Sensations. Marie let me take a picture of her. She is a gracious beautiful person. I enjoyed listening to The Coasters do their rendition of Yakity Yak and Charlie Brown. I know several street people in the 7th Battalion who I am sure those songs were written for.

The real excitement came after the super stars left. It was open mike night at the Bonker’s Comedy Club. Anyone with a two minute act could get on stage and do their stuff. On this road trip I have done Karaoke and Rap music. I figured what the hell I might as well try comedy. My Firefighter friends are always sending me Firefighter jokes, so I put together a short act. I am glad I made it short. I followed a very funny black comedian. I had stage fright and I found the material my friends sent me couldn’t make a hyena laugh. I found I was better at rap than stand-up comedy. I think one of the jokes caused the crowd to murmur once. It wasn’t a laugh; it was more like a groan. It was all in good fun. I guess I blew my chance to be a headliner in Vegas but I had my shot.

The performers were a mix of young and old. Some were very good and some fit into my category. There were several people from Canada including an elderly woman. She was hilarious. If you remember me telling you about always finding a Firefighter connection with the people I meet, you will not be surprised when I tell you one of the comedians was a Firefighter from Thunder Bay Canada. He was good but not as good as my friend Dick Hoffman (a Detroit Firefighter). Dick could have made a living with his material. Once on a trip to Las Vegas, Dick met Buddy Hackett. Buddy told Dick that he was better than ninety percent of the comedians working at that time.

The Firefighter from Thunder Bay was Kevin Kennedy. His stage name is Doctor Funny Bone. He was there with a fellow comedian named Richard Kiss. Richard owns Thincat Productions and also does stand-up comedy. I think I am starting to network with show biz folks. I have included pictures with this blog. Dr. Funny Bone has the handle bar mustache and is sitting with Richard Kiss. Richard said his name always caused him trouble when people used the more informal version of Dick Kiss. It was kind of like being a boy named Sue only worse.

I had fun last night. Day 55 will be hard to top.

A forged Marquee
A forged Marquee