happy mitch hedbergthday!

some jokes and remembrances about one of my favorite comedians and people

dear friends,

i’m grateful that you are here.
thank you for being here and now.
i’m glad you are here now.

usually, i share bits here that i haven’t shared it before.
today, i’m making an exception because today is the late, great mitch hedberg’s birthday, so i’m going to share much of what i shared last year on this day.

mitch is one of my favorite comics of all time, so i hope you enjoy these mitch-related nuggets (again or otherwise), with some new commentary added.

A) a joke i wrote, inspired by a joke mitch wrote:

i used to love mitch hedberg jokes.
i still do, but i used to, too.

mitch wrote so many wonderful, beautiful, hilarious jokes.
they are utterly relistenable. i love listening to them so much.
sometimes after listening to mitch for a while, i’ll find myself talking like him, thinking like he sounds, writing jokes in his style and spirit.
has that ever happened to you?
after listening to mitch or one of YOUR favorite comedians?
or artists of any kind?

B) a short story about the time i saw mitch open for attell and lewis black:

THE HOST: “i’ve never worked with mitch but i was super excited to meet him”
MITCH: “that guy said he was excited to meet me, but backstage that is Not the impression i got”

there are so many stories i’ve heard of mitch being faux-mean in funny ways.
and zero stories i’ve heard of him being actually mean.
have you heard any mitch stories that i haven’t heard?
or any stories of seeing or interacting with YOUR favorite comedian or artist?
do you want to share them?

C) another joke i wrote, inspired by a joke mitch wrote:

“the first and the middle part are amazing”
— hedberg on wine, and me on hedberg

i also think that this joke says a lot about the way many of us feel about life and death! death can seem like this big, scary thing that happens at the end of life. sometimes it can frighten us so much that we forget how nice it can be to be alive. i mean, the reason death seems scary to ME is that it’s the end of LIFE. which means that there must be something about LIFE that is super worthwhile, if i don’t want it to end. mitch’s jokes weren’t all about the most profound topics on the surface, but deep down, maybe they all were. (i’m thinking of starting a project where i take each one of his jokes and delve deep into it. maybe i’m doing more than thinking about starting it. maybe this is the start. thanks for being here!)

D) a related non-joke i wrote:

LIFE HACK: tell people you love them before they die or you die

an addition to this: you can also tell them you love them AFTER they die. i love you, Mitch. and MAYBE we can tell them after WE die, but i recommend we do it before we die, just in case. that way we’ll be sure to get it in. i love you!

E) bonus mitch information:

i’d also like to share with you that Lynn Shawcroft was a guest on my podcast, Broccoli and Ice Cream, on this day last year. Lynn was married to Mitch and graciously shared so much from her life and their life together. listen here if you’d like! i love you and thank you, Lynn!

F) finally, i had this thought while i was writing the caption for this related instagram post about Lynn and Mitch and our conversation:

when we speak reverently of beloved folks who have died, we often say things like “the late, great Mitch.”
i’d like to also offer that when speaking reverently of beloved folks who are ALIVE, we can say things like “the here, dear Lynn.”
(i know there is a convention of saying that someone is “near and dear” to our hearts, and i do like that. just want to offer this addition to the lexicon.)

thank you all for being here and dear to me.

G) something someone shared with me about mitch that i love :

”I remember one of Hedberg's riffs: he had his notebook sitting on a stool. A joke didn't work, so he flipped the page over, then walked away to start the new joke. The notebook page folded itself back into place. When Hedberg came back to the book, he realized what happened, said ‘Uh uh, Notebook! We already tried that joke and it didn't work! ... Alright, fine. Notebook has spoken!’ He tried the joke again. We all laughed and applauded.”

thank you again for sharing this, friend.
thank you all for receiving this, friends.

H) -edberg!

and that’s just about it for today! thank you so much for being here.

on a somewhat related note, i’m going to be performing on a show called the Modern Loss Variety Hour this coming wednesday, march 1 in NYC! it promises to be (from their website) “an evening of community, catharsis, and inspiration for navigating the weird terrain of life after loss. Comedy! Storytelling! Song! Grief prizes! Anything goes as we explore an experience in which anything goes.” hope you can make it if you’re in the area!

FINALLY, some questions for you:

1) who are some of YOUR favorite artists/comedians/musicians/people?
2) do you have any stories you’d like to share about any of these favorites?
3) do you have any stories you’d like to share about any of your loved ones?
4) do you have anything you’d like to share?
5) how are you doing? what’s new and good?

PS last week, i shared some jokes and thoughts and asked questions about strangers, and my friend nick responded with this delightful nugget that he is permitting me to share, because i believe it will delight you as well:

”You might like this story that touches on your 'stranger' theme. When I was studying abroad in France my language skills started to improve to the point where someone asked me "Are you French?" maybe because my French accent was so good I 'fooled' them or maybe they were just being polite. I meant to say "No, I'm a foreigner." (Je suis étranger) but instead I said "Je suis étrange" (I am strange).  So, yeah, they were just being polite.”

EXTRA-FINALLY finally, a photo with this caption that Mitch wrote on the back: “Standing very near Lynn, I love Lynn”