thank you, good night

Yesterday I heard the terrible news that David Lee Nelson passed away. David was an actor, a writer, a comic, and just a sharp witted and funny friend. This is the second death our scene has experienced in a year. First the untimely passing of Scott Frank, the bedrock of the Cutty’s comedy shows and mic and now David.

My normal response to death is gratitude. I don’t do this instead of mouning, I do it in concert.

I try to find what I received from this person, and put it at the top of the lonely christmas tree of my grief and memory. We lose people, everyone is moving away from you all the time, its a cold comfortless fact. But I try to honor those who I’ve lost by carrying some part of them into the future.

But losing friends from comedy is a particular type of loss. Comedy to me is in part the triumph of light over dark. It is the talent of making the unbearable bearable through perspective.

Laughing, when you think about it, is an improbable action.

Most people seldom ever laugh day to day. They laugh at about the rate that they cry. Not so often. So to take upon yourself the task of making someone laugh is a noble and difficult job.

Laughter makes the world better, in spite of itself.

I have hippy friends who call themselves “light workers”. To me, comedians are light workers. They throw the pie in their own face for the sake of the crowd, and the crowd realizes in time that maybe there was some pie on their face this whole time and they never realized. Comedy is the best contagion in the world.

Losing a comedian friend feels like watching some of that light die. I hate it. I don’t and will never understand.

Its like forgetting a joke you once wrote, something that created joy that will never do so again.

I wasn’t best friends with David or anything, but he was a friend to our scene and he was a part of my coming of age in comedy and I wanted to share a story about the time I did know him to honor his memory.

Thanks to David, I had one of the best sets of my life.

He hosted a show in a tiny tiny wine bar, like 15 seats. He asked me to host or do time. I could tell right from the jump it was going to be a good set. The crowd was having fun, then came one of the most special and hilarious moments in my career. There was a constant stream of tourists walking by the window of the wine bar. When they would look in and see a room full of people watching a guy talking into a mic, they were curious. Finally, an older couple stopped and looked like they were going to come in.

I told the crowd, “man, wouldn’t it be funny if when they came in we all bowed our heads and acted like this was some kind of weird church meeting”. Everyone laughed.

Then as if on cue, couple walked in.

I told the crowd “ok everyone please bow your head and close your eyes as we give thanks” without skipping a beat the little crowd did it, then we all started laughing.

It was such a ridiculous moment, but one that fueled my confidence. David told me I was funny and coming from him that was something to hold on to. In this world, as we scale the wall of our desires, we often times have our foot hold in the hands of a friend that boost us up, and that night David boosted me up and I’ll never forget him for that.

There is no other way to leave this off then with some of his stand up. Thank you David, may you find rest. Good night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4Hwa-ft4D8