Car Troubles

Last week, I was scheduled to perform in Louisville and Chattanooga as part of a mini road trip I booked on my own. Admittedly, I am horrible at geography and should have just looked at a map to do the trip differently - Tennessee is very long and Chattanooga is very close to Atlanta, not Louisville.

Three hours into the trip, in Indianapolis, my otherwise reliable car, just stalled on the highway. It did this once before when I was driving last summer in 90 degree heat, traveling at speeds around the same as the weather. The different however, I had just taken my car to the dealer to make sure it was ready for the 9 hour drive and it was "cleared for takeoff". And I had taken the car on multiple road trips since last summer with no issues.

The common thread however was that it was again 90 degrees and I was again driving pretty fast. It was overheated and I did not want to deal with stops for the remaining six hours. I waited and was able to start it again to take it to a rental car facility at the airport and rent a car. I did not make my Louisville show but was able to travel through the night to Chattanooga for a weekend of sold out shows with my friend, the hilarious Dusty Slay (Happy Birthday, Dusty!) I never contemplated cancelling the weekend. And I am glad I didn't.

The first night of shows already cleared any doubts I may have had about driving through the night instead of calling it quits and returning to Chicago. After the show, I was approached by a recently divorced father with a special needs child, in tears. He told me how thankful he was that I came to Chattanooga and how he had not been able to go out for years due to his child's condition. He was stood up by his date for the show and decided to still come by himself. He said he had not laughed that hard in years and needed joy in his life after a long long couple of years. I provided it to him. "Comedians don't get the credit they deserve for what they do for people" is what he told me. So I am basically like my doctor brother now, right? He cried and then I cried and we hugged. Easily one of the best moments I have had in comedy.

The rest of the shows were the cherry on top as I had a blast working with one of the best comedians in the US right now and sold out of Better Call Paul shirts AGAIN (I need to increase my order size!), raising more money for Parkinson's Foundation. If anyone knows about overheating in older German cars, give me a call too. #cartroubles #careerchange #standupcomedy #formerlawyer #travel