The laughter and (almost) tears of Monday

I, like many, have been waiting, anticipating today's premiere broadcast of The Randi Rhodes Show (via Premiere Radio Networks).  I'm sure as I strolled around on my lunch hour with my headphones on, head shaking and stifling giggling fits as all of her fans' favorite hallmarks of Randi's show (that NYC accent, the sentences that start, fade out and jump to another thought as if her mind works a lot faster than her mouth, phone callers who couldn't hear her and vice versa) that I looked like an idiot.  Could not care less, though.  Amongst all of the things fans have grown to love about her show, it was so lovely to once again hear a well researched and passionate voice during the workday.

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So, Saturday night's press dinner featuring President Obama telling jokes (I'm a sucker for self deprecating humor and he does it well) and Wanda Sykes delivering a sometimes funny, sometimes "oooo, no she didn't!"

So, what was the big issue?  Comedy is best done when the only ones watching are those who think the comedy is funny.  The broader the audience, the more watered down the comedy has to become.  Could be the comedy was not watered down enough for the cameras.  Then again, there is plenty of Wanda Sykes clips out there to give anyone who extended the invite to her for Saturday night's event a good idea what kind of comedy potency they are getting.

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On a personal note, I had a unsettling occurrence at work today.  Someone who phoned in for help with their product wound up spending much of the 12 minute call telling me about the set of circumstances which brought him to the phone.

Turns out he and his partner were struggling with multiple stressors.  The customer's parents had died late last year and the customer himself was recently diagnosed with another occurrence of the cancer which, until recently, had been in remission for years.  To add more wood and fuel to the fire, the customer's siblings were challenging my customer's inheritance and, while his parents loved his partner like another son, his brothers and sisters could not be bothered.

And, continuing the fire metaphor, he and his partner had to evacuate their home due to approaching wildfires.

Considering all of the messes life had hurled at him, it was nearly miraculous that he only broke down sobbing briefly twice.  While I was able to take care of his problem with the product and recommended some resources for him to access, I have to leave it up to God to give the man at the other end of the phone to give him the peace that passes all understanding.  There just isn't any good reason why someone who is nearing their final days on earth should have to also handle such heavy burdens.

While it seemed obvious to me that there was something divine about me receiving that call today, I will admit I had felt for just a little bit of time afterward, that perhaps God had placed me in front of too difficult a circumstance.  The last time I had felt this unnerved was after I had lost my mom to cancer 12 years ago this month.

God also took care of me afterward, too.  My partner picked up the phone when I called as I walked to the Metro station and promised to hear the full version of this story when I got home. I got to sit all through the commute home (most days I stand for 3/4ths of the ride -- my balance and stamina are just not what they used to be).  I got to check out a really cute dude for a little while.  Sitting next to me on the second leg of my trip home was a dude watching Olbermann and I wasn't phased in the slightest when a college-aged Jehovah's Witness tried to witness on the train.  By the time I got home, I was relaxed -- at peace -- and able to put today's events into perspective.

I'm already prepared for whatever comes tomorrow.