Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Miami Voice

Tuesday August 24th, 2010 - St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/Miami, FL

   This gig is definitely not for dabblers. It’s all in or all gone, and full attention is required both onstage and off. The amount of things to look after is by far the most I’ve ever had at any one time of anything in which I’ve ever been involved. Minute details are everywhere to be found, and one uncrossed T or undotted I could result in a big time mess o’ trouble.

   Part of it is all a big adventure though, and for now I’m going to choose to enjoy it all as much as I can before either I get sick of it all or it gets sick of me. Anything could dust up at any time on either side, so I’m not taking anything for granted. It’s all week to week.

   There are quite a few solid positives, but that’s not always what the dented can searches for first. Most of us are so used to being burned in some painfully brutal way, we come to expect it. That isn’t how a true winner thinks, and I have to catch myself often. But I am.

   It would be easy to just can all this and walk away. I’m not really into it full time, but if I make good showings that will probably happen in the not too distant future. Either I can handle this assignment or I cannot, and that will become quite evident in the near future.

   So far, the shows have been just ok. I’ve had some very good ones and others I’m really ashamed of. Still others were in between both extremes and just plain mediocre. Getting a chance to travel to all these exotic places I’ve never been before is turning out to be a real treat, even better than I expected. But I have to realize - this is the first time I’m doing it.

   The first time around the comedy circuit was a blast too. So was my first real radio job. I had a lot fun for a while, and then some surprise bomb dropped or some crisis happened and I was deep inside a pit of hell I wasn’t wanting to be inside of. So far I haven’t had an inkling of any of that here, but it’s bound to happen. That’s just how things tend to work.

   Every week I’m out here working the ships is another week of paid education. I’ll make mistakes, but not nearly as stupid as the ones I made in my younger years. I’m much more experienced now, and the worst case scenario of getting fired won’t rock my world like it has so many times in the past. I’m not going to put myself in that vulnerable spot again.

   Supposedly, we’re all here to learn life lessons. If that’s true, I’ve done exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. I really am getting better as I get older, and my thinking is getting a lot clearer too. Now that I have a steady income, that’s clearing up a lot of problems also.

   If you would have told me when I was a frustrated, hurting, unfulfilled, smart and dumb ass kid that one day I’d be staying overnight at a hotel in Miami, waiting to fly to a cruise ship to do a week of comedy shows that paid me solid money I’d have laughed out loud.

   Now, I have to make the most of this fantastic opportunity, and if nothing else just be as grateful as I can for such a wonderful chance to experience what most others only picture in a wild pipe dream. I’m living it, and I appreciate it. It’s a LONG way from Milwaukee.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary

1 comment:

Lisa said...

You have always been your toughest critic. Relax; your shows are always better than you think.
xxoo Lisa