A couple of weeks ago, my sister Amanda came out for a long weekend to visit. Since she had never been here before, I decided to give her the default Oregon weekend tour- we spent some time walking around Portland, a day on the coast, and a day in the gorge. Oh, and plenty of good local food and beer.
At Everyday Music
Washington Park
Tasting at Rogue
She loved it.
So while riding the #15 home last night, the bus driver introduces himself like this:
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Steve. I hope you’re having a fine Wednesday. It’s my Friday, and our first stop is SE Belmont & 11th avenue.”
A few minutes passed. Long enough for everyone on the packed bus to enter their own little worlds and then be pulled out of them by a sudden announcement by Steve over the intercom:
“So my wife comes home the other night, and she says to me, ‘Take off my blouse.’”
Everyone aboard the bus is suddenly paying close attention. The driver continued:
“Then she said, ‘take off my skirt.’”
Awkward glances between passengers. I look up from my book.
“And then she told me never to wear her clothes again.”
Laughter. Groans. It’s some kind of knack to turn a random group of people into an attentive audience in three sentences, and Steve had it.
After a few more stops, the P.A. buzzed to life again.
“This man was watching his six children playing in the yard, and something occurs to him that he’d never realized before. So he says to his wife, ‘Honey, I’ve noticed that there’s something different about Jimmy. Does he have a different father than all the rest of them?’”
“His wife looks at him, and then says, ‘Actually, yes, he does.’”
“So he says, ‘Well, would you mind telling me who it is?’”
“And she replies, ‘You.’”
And with that, Steve was two for two.
Somehow I had gotten on the only bus in Portland driven by a Catskills comedian, and it made my day. Unfortunately, I got off at the next stop, and was forced to miss the rest of his set.
| “Life is like stepping onto a boat that is about to sail out to sea and sink.”
“The world is its own magic.” “Strictly speaking, there are no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity.” -Shunryu Suzuki, Soto Zen Master, 1904-1971 |
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Although I registered this domain last December, I haven’t gotten a chance to do anything with it until now. Posts will be appearing bi-directionally: new ones will appear above, while posts that I’m gradually importing from 1000wines will appear below.
