Monday, December 13, 2010

A Dissatisfied Customer

Monday December 13th, 2010 - Somewhere At Sea

   Choppy Waters. Sounds like the long lost cousin of Muddy. It feels like the ship is in an enormous blender with the ‘puree’ button pressed, and most of the day today was just like most of last night - shaky. There are a pair of metal drawers under my bunk that slid open during the night and I got out of bed and sliced my right shin open on one of them. Ouch.

   It’s not quite bad enough for stitches, but it was bleeding pretty good for a while. I don’t need any medical expenses right now, but maybe I should at least consider a tetanus shot. I don’t want to have lock jaw as the cause of my death, even though it would be funny.

   Not thrilled with the first show tonight. I sense the passengers are a bit crabby and they did skew a little older than I’m used to out here. There were kids right up front too, which made it an even odder mix. They chatted during the whole show and I could hear them as clear as day. The older people were a little slow on the uptake so I tried to slow it down.

   That’s always difficult for me, but my usual rapid fire style wasn’t going to work in this situation. Plus, I burned extra material last night and I need to save what I’ve got for later in the week when I’ll need it in all the adult shows. I did the best I could with what I had.

   After the show, I was sitting at the bar with my glasses on and often times people do not recognize me as being the one who was just on stage. A well dressed guy said to his party in a boisterous tone, “Geez, I could’ve skipped THAT. Is that supposed to be FUNNY?”

   He was shaking his head as he walked right by me and looked me right in the eye as he passed. I don’t think he realized I was the guy on stage, but his party did and they looked down at the floor as they passed. I did have some people come up and shake my hand but the negative ones always stand out - especially when they’re that blatantly vocal about it.

   I don’t have a problem if someone doesn’t think I’m funny, I really don’t, but when they voice their opinion with such disdain I’m not going to lie - it hurts. A lot. That guy had no idea how much sacrifice went into what he saw, and if he didn’t like it he could have kept it to himself or at least waited to say it until he got out of the room. It really sank my boat.

   Judging by the way he was dressed, he probably had money. Maybe he inherited it from his old man, and everyone in his immediate circle thinks he’s a horse’s ass. He sure acted like it, but I guess that’s his right. He didn’t pay a cent to get in, and that’s the reason I’m against not having a cover charge. It’s easy to mock something that didn’t cost to get in.

   It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a person dislike me that strongly up close. It’s part of being an entertainer, but on the right night it can sting to the bone. This was that night, and it bothered me even into the later show where I kicked ass and took names. I brought it extra hard and pounded those people until they couldn’t breathe, partly because I liked them and partly to prove I belong here and can do the job. I got big applause at the end of my set, but in some cabin some oaf still thinks I stink. And that hurts worse than my shin.

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

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