The planet Uranus was discovered by Sir William Herschel on March 13, 1781. I don’t know how he discovered it or why he chose to call it what he did, but I’d have to guess it was around 6:01am on March 14, 1781 the jokes started, and they’re still flowing today.
Who doesn’t remember snickering in class the first time they heard of the planet’s name and put it together with the body part? It was in grade school, and we weren’t supposed to laugh - but that’s exactly why it was so funny. Suppressed laughter is always the sweetest.
For 230 years now, grade schoolers of all ages have made Uranus jokes and laughed out loud, even though the stodgy ‘powers that be’ have tried to change the pronunciation over the years. Sorry, if you’re over 30 it’s Ur-ANUS. Tee hee. Don’t take away my childhood.
Today is officially the day I roll the dice and put everything I’ve got into banking on the power of a grade school joke taking me from just another white guy trying to be funny to a successful business person with name recognition. It’s time to make something happen.
I’ve had this idea for years now, and have spent time and money getting myself ready to make the plunge, and the time is now. I have learned a lot, but have a lot more to go. I’ve been working on so many other projects and also trying to survive that I’m way behind on where I thought I’d be by now, and it’s disappointing. Quitting now would make it worse.
I want to create a character that’s larger than life called ‘The King of Uranus’, and make myself known to customers who will buy funny things of all kinds. Harland Sanders had a similar transformation into his Colonel Sanders character, which is exactly what that was.
He dressed the same way, looked the same way and cultivated a persona that Americans eventually came to know, like and trust. I’m not sure if I can become the icon he did, but I sure think I can associate myself with whoopee cushions and joke items at the very least.
I know there’s more in there too. Maybe it will evolve into a production company to put funny products together like live shows, CD and DVD projects and maybe even television or movie projects. I don’t know exactly what direction will be the best, but I know I need to start now and attempt to go somewhere. Right now, it’s all sitting there doing nothing.
There’s no way I’m going to start thinking about this again and start making a living as ‘The King of Uranus’ overnight, or next week. I won’t be listing ‘Royal Space Highness’ as my occupation on my tax return this year. It’s going to take a steady transformation for several years to pull it off the way I envision it. I’m going to change my whole existence.
It’s not just a matter of putting on a cape and a crown or some goofy costume. I need to learn about business and sales and marketing and use my creativity and showmanship in a totally different way than I have before. I want to educate myself and evolve into a unique entity that can become a brand name on its own. And, I still have to make a living as well.
This is SO off the beaten path, but that’s why it intrigues me so much. This should be a wonderful time in my life, and in many ways it is, but I’m really starting to get sick of the road and comedy as I’ve come to know it. That was a dream 25 years ago, and I really did manage to pull it off and make it a reality. Now it’s time for a new dream, and this is it.
What interests me is working on and learning new skills. I can adapt pretty well, and the skills required for business are different than the ones required to live the road life. Going from one to the other will have some lumps and bumps, but I believe it’ll pay off nicely.
That’s all a ways off yet. Tonight it was up to Kenosha to go back in the radio studio for The Mothership Connection on WLIP. I hadn’t been on the air in a while and was looking forward to it. Co-hosts Gary Pansch and Shelley Maas Hernandez suggested we get a nice meal before the show at the HuHot Mongolian barbecue restaurant. That’s their favorite.
I don’t hate it, and we met up for a birthday meal. Shelley had a coupon and we enjoyed a nice relaxing meal before the show. I didn’t think to ask who the guests were, as they’ve been doing a fine job without my input at all. I showed them what to do, and they do it.
The first guest was a woman who talked about reinvention and finding our ideal jobs in life. She was fascinating, and told me I’d hit stride in a year or two and be more known as a speaker and helper of people. She was a great guest, and whether or not it’s true she had our attention the entire time. The show is tremendously fun when guests are that sharp.
After that it got really fun. Shelley went out of her way to do a ‘This Is Your Life’ show for the final two hours and it almost made me cry. What a kind hearted thing to do, and it made me feel very much appreciated. I always try to do things like that for others, but it’s even better when it comes back my way. She worked on it for a long time but it was great.
She lined up callers to wish me a happy birthday and tell a story. It started with my very sweet Godmother Anita Baumann. She has always remembered my birthdays and always sent a card, even when I was a kid. My birth mother was nowhere to be found, but Anita’s kindness is still there all these years later. She’s a kind soul and I appreciate her so much.
After that, our ex co-host Lara Shaffer was in studio and sat in with us for a while. Lara was and is absolutely fantastic on the air, and totally adds a unique angle. She’s got a very natural on air presence and is extremely sharp on the topics we talk about. She was in her usually strong air mode, and we lit it up for almost an hour. It was great to have her back.
Next it was a mixed array of comedy people from the years of my life from Bert Haas of Zanies in Chicago to Jim McHugh to Bill Gorgo to Tim Walkoe and several others. Then, Jerry Agar was on the phone telling how we met, and Shelley played the Kidders theme.
To my shock, the other two Kidders Tim Slagle and Ken Sevara walked in and made my whole month. They’d been planning it for a while, and it was an absolute blast hanging in the studio with such great friends. For one night, I was the king of radio. And I loved it!
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