Friday May 29th, 2009 - Galena, IL

   One of the things I’m most proud of in my life is the number of interesting communities I’ve had a chance to become part of. I’m a part of the standup comedy community and the radio community and the pro wrestling community and the sports card dealer community, at least in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas. Now I’m adding yet another one to that list.

   I’m really enjoying the people I’m meeting at the Out Of This World UFO Conference and I can totally see myself becoming a part of this community too. I’m very interested in the topic and always have been and everyone here has been very friendly. I feel totally at home with these people and that doesn’t happen very often for me. I like the vibe a lot.

   It starts right from the top as it usually does in every good organization. When I first did a comedy convention in Los Angeles back in the ‘90s I knew the Perret family were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met and we’re still friends today. Gene Perret is the head of the family and the convention but the whole bunch are classy people and I saw it quickly.

   I’m finding the same thing here in Galena. Sam and Julie Maranto are also some of the sweetest and most sincere people I’ve come across in a long time and so are all the others I’ve met so far. They’ve associated with only top quality professionals and it’s a fun event all around. I’ve learned a lot and can see myself hanging in these circles more and more.

   People who are interested in these kinds of topics get unfairly branded as kook bags and I think that really stinks. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a one man wack pack myself but it’s got nothing to do with the fact that I’m interested in learning more about the UFO scene.

   I’ve never seen a flying saucer and don’t claim to be an abductee myself but I can safely say it sure is fun to eat dinner and have someone tell me they have. They had my attention from their first words and I enjoyed hearing some amazing stories. Whether or not they’re true isn’t something I can say for sure but nobody was mean and I really got a lot out of it.

   I talked with some of the presenters and there is professional jealousy just like we have in comedy and I laughed when I heard about it. People are people and it’s bound to have a place in every field of endeavor. None of the weenies are here this week though and all of the people I talked to had nothing but great things to say about the Marantos. I sure agree.

   They’ve got me helping out a little but basically it’s just a chance to schmooze and meet new people to be guests on the Mothership Connection. I’ve found a few already and I am glad I made it a point to come out here this week. Everything about the place is first class. If I had to take a week off of working comedy clubs this was the perfect way to handle it.

   The food is wonderful and the accommodations are totally top shelf and the weather has been absolutely perfect. We all had fun today but I came back home to go do WGN in the morning with Jerry’s Kidders. Doing it on the phone makes it harder for everyone and I’d rather just drive in and do it right - but I’ll head right back to Galena for more UFO fun.