Smokin' Fool!

No comedy this week, there just weren’t nuthin’ worth laughin’ at! My only opportunity was on Monday night, but I came down with a nasty little flu on the weekend, and, while a man on stage with fever and chills might be hilarious, especially if he’s caught up in a relentless nicotine craving, the humour would only be apparent to the observer. Yeah, that’s the other thing, I quit smoking on Monday; between being sick, and having no sickerettes, I had a few interesting days.


Yesterday I was beginning to come around, so I went to Toastmasters, where I was Chairman for the evening. There is little similarity between Toastmasters and stand-up, but the latter could benefit from the ‘organizational skills’ of the former, and the former could benefit from the ‘humour skills’ of the latter. And me? Last night I sure could have benefited from a smoke, but, I persevered, though I felt that I’d perish!

The job of Chairman is fairly straight forward; most of the work is done in advance and consists of slotting a whole bunch of varied activities and people into a tight two hour agenda, (and we do like a tight agenda!) Last night I had to chair a business meeting, and then introduce impromptu speakers and three people who were doing prepared presentations. It went fairly well, although early in the evening, while standing at the front, I could feel sweat trickle down my back; I’m not sure whether this was caused by the presence of flu, or the absence of nicotine!

All told a good evening, although it was sort of an extended nicky fit, especially afterward on the drive home. Today I feel almost myself again, it’s just ...I sure could use a cigarette!