Pump Up The Jam

They say you know you're getting older when you think the music is too loud. That's not true. I've always thought the music was too loud. When I was 18 years old and I went to my first nightclub, I was shocked by the stratospheric decibel levels. It felt as though the booming base was reverberating through my DNA. Between the tsunami of sound and the flashing lights I feared a stroke was imminent. 

Fan Fight: The Bublé-Bieber Battle

I lucked out and got the chance to be the warm-up comedian for “Michael Bublé’s Christmas Special” which will air in December on NBC. Pronounced “Boo-Blay” you may recognize his chart topper "Haven't Met You Yet" from his 2009 “Crazy Love” album. This Frank Sinatra-style crooner sang Christmas classics with Latin singer Thalia, country music star Kellie Pickler, and hosted special guest ... wait for it ... Justin Bieber! Wow! That's a big get. What could go wrong? Funny you should ask.

Scent of a Black Woman

So, I’m standing in line at the dollar store waiting to pay. I’m dutifully looking at all the impulse items that were put there to get my attention and that’s when I saw  my favorite: the display of cheap perfume body sprays. I was expecting the usual plastic bottle assortment of vanilla, coconut, strawberry. But the bottle that caught and held my eye was a scent I’d never seen before called Black Woman. Really? Was this from the people who brought you White Woman? 

Running From Kathy Bates

My friends seem to dig the fact that I now run to stay in shape. They encourage me and give me kudos all the time. But it drives me nuts when I hear them say, “Oh, ‘I’ could never do that.” I say, “Yes you can!” Because — as of this writing — none of my friends are paraplegics. As we used to say back in the day: there’s nothing to it but to do it. And here are a few tools to help.

A Beautiful Day for a Protest

Two friends invited me to go with them to the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City and I said yes for purely selfish reasons. First, I hoped to get a good story out of it. Second, the weather forecast said it was going to be 80 degrees and sunny. What better conditions to exercise my constitutional rights? Yes, I’m a fair-weather protester. I don’t work for the United States Post Office. If the forecast had been for rain, snow, sleet or hail, the most protesting I would have done would have been to hole up in a Starbucks and send an angry email. 

Running at the Speed of Evolution

When I hoped for the chance to do another 5K run before the end of the Summer, I never dreamed I’d be doing it in another country. September found me in the Middle East on my seventh tour with Armed Forces Entertainment. While staying at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, the head of our security team knew I liked to run and mentioned that the base was doing a 5K Freedom Run to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of September 11. Perfect! I was all in. I did blanche a bit when he told me that the run was at six o’clock in the morning. But hey, when I wished for a chance to run, I neglected to tell the Universe what time would be good for me.