Tuesday, April 05, 2005

"Sometimes I would tell them that my niece died...."


Sedaris at GWU last night was great. Maybe not $32.50 great, but he read new works--2 fables plus "Town & Country" and "Keeping Up" (the last is in the current or next week's New Yorker, FYI)--and took questions and an hour and a half passed like *that*. The fables were alright, but with the last two I was rolling. A story wherein he says " 'Shit' is the tofu of cuss words" HAS to be money, wouldn't you agree? The quotation comes from the question and answer period he had after the reading ended. Someone asked how his niece was (this being the daughter of the Rooster, both of whom have been featured in stories past) and he answered us truthfully and honestly, but said that he gets that question a lot and occasionally he'll answer "She died" just to see what the people do. That's what is so great about him, and going to see him in person--while the readings are excellent, just he himself is such a character. He is clever and incisive but his observations are so unvarnished--the classic "he says what everyone is thinking"...and then some. Not for the faint of heart or those opposed to the potty mouth, but who cares about them?

I was home and in bed by 10:30, but that was seriously pushing it for me last night. The full weekend was bookended by a Friday and a Sunday night where I only got about 4-5 hours of sleep each so I went into the event already pretty maxed out. Add to that that rowing started today (up at 4:45) and you have yourselves one tired ADD. But the astonishing thing is that the weather is phenomenal here, and the river was calm as bathtub so we actually got out on the water, the first day back!! That is almost unheard of, and what's more I was in a great boat with guys who knew what they were doing and we had an awesome row. Such an auspicious start to the season. So I'm in good spirits despite being so bloody tired, and as long as I can nurse the very strong coffee at my side, get out for a walkabout at lunch and call it a night early tonight, all should be well.

But check in with me in a few hours. I could be eating those words and wearing cranky pants with a button fly. Time will tell.

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