Monday May 28th, 2007 - Chicago, IL

It’s my job to make as many jokes as I can about as many things as I can. There aren’t a whole lot of things I won’t joke about but Memorial Day is one of them. I learned it from my grandfather when I was a little kid. He taught me how precious our freedom is and all about how people have paid for it with the ultimate cost of their very lives. He made it all very clear at a young age and we would talk about it often. He taught me to say the Pledge of Allegiance and how to respect the American flag and also to be very aware of the ones that protect our freedom every day. He was very adamant about it and years later I am too.

I very much appreciate everyone serving in each of the Armed Forces who protects me and my precious freedom. I never take it for granted and I never forget how lucky I am to live in a place where I can pursue my happiness every day. Today is their day. Thank you.

I can vividly remember going for walks with my grandpa as a kid. Those were some of the best memories I have because we’d talk about a lot of things and I learned a whole lot that I still look back on today. One of those things I learned was how to be grateful for my chance to live in America. Gramps didn’t serve in any wars but he was in the Air Force so whenever we would see anyone in a military uniform he would tell me to walk up to them and thank them for protecting my freedom. This started when I was about 5 or 6 years old and at first I was very shy and uncomfortable about doing it but when I saw how it just lit up the faces of the people I began liking it. This was back in the 70s when soldiers didn’t get the respect they get now and it really made an impact both on them and on me too.

To this day I still do it whenever I can. If I see anyone in a military uniform I walk over and quietly but politely say how grateful I am to be an American and how important their job is and I want them to know that if nobody else appreciates it I do. I try to give each of them a comedy CD if I can but that’s not always possible. It is possible to say a thank you though and I can see their faces light up today like they did back when I was a little kid.

I’m not pro war in any way but I sure am pro Armed Forces. I try to give to that cause at all times and if there is a benefit show for troops or disabled veterans or anything at all to do with the military I definitely do it. I have donated proceeds from my comedy CD to the cause of disabled veterans and in the future if I can donate more I’d be thrilled. Those that may read this and know of anyone who may be able to use my services please get in touch with me and I’ll gladly do it. There are a lot of people who sacrificed for me and now it is my turn to pay it back. I will never grow weary of supporting those who’ve supported me.

We had a Chicago Style Standups show at Zanies tonight and there was a pretty healthy crowd in there to see us. Most were out of towners but that’s ok with us. We didn’t mind and neither did they. They wanted a show and we gave it to them and everybody had fun.

Before the show we had a meeting with the group discussing our future. This isn’t at all an easy project to tackle and everyone knows it. We had a group dinner and aired out our differences and hopefully we can keep going and take this idea where we think it can go.