I Will Not Be Ignored
Introduction
You’ve made it this far.
I’m not assuming you’ve purchased this book as yet. (If you have, thank you) It could be that you’re standing in the aisle of a bookstore or browsing Amazon, and you were drawn to the title, the description, or the artwork, and decided to read the introduction to see if you’re interested. That’s not particularly funny, but then again, it’s hard to know what makes people laugh, chuckle, or smile.
In 1978 I was sitting in a movie theatre on East 68th Street in Manhattan watching La Cage aux Folles. (This was long before it became a Broadway musical, and before it was transformed into the movie, The Birdcage.) In the film, the character of Albin, in an effort to appear more stereotypically masculine, puts on a conventional grey suit. However, he crosses his legs to reveal bright pink socks. The audience roared. I found the scene touching and could not understand why people were laughing.
That should be, I suppose, a cautionary tale when it comes to writing a humor book. However, not having a formula for what most people find funny, my solution is to write stuff that I find funny and hope that most of it lands with people who read it.
This book is divided up as follows: a bunch of stories that I’ve invented for no good reason other than they made me laugh to read them; episodes from my life that strike me as amusing; and some opinions and observations that strike me as funny. Also, a bunch of other people read these and told me they were funny. Either that or they didn’t want to hurt my feelings.
In the comic plays I’ve written, it’s easy to sit in the audience and listen for laughs or the dreaded silence. Since I can’t stand behind you when you’re reading this book (luckily for you and me), I’m just going to imagine that, while it is unlikely everyone will laugh at everything, everybody (including you) will laugh at something.
If you’re still undecided about whether or not to buy the book, take the leap. If you like it, please tell your friends. But tell them you’ve misplaced your copy, so they’ll have to buy their own.