I’ve been a sort-of fan of
Jay Leno ever since I saw him live in a New York City comedy club way back when
he was not famous or the “Jay Leno”
America knows from television. He was young, odd looking (thus, memorable) and
I, of course, was practically a toddler J
In a long line of stand-up
comics that night, he was the only one who so much as made the audience chuckle.
Actually, he made us laugh.
So a little while ago, I
saw him interviewed by Bill Maher, and his Corona-humor made me laugh again. I
rarely remember jokes, and there was a whole string of them. But the first one
stuck, and I’m passing it along.
Bill Maher commented that
Jay Leno is a “glass half-full” sort of guy. Then he asked how Leno was doing,
dealing with COVID-19.
“Sure, I’m optimistic,” Leno
said. “The other day I saw Doctor Fauci say, ‘this is a war and we must fight it like one.’ So the reporters asked him ‘how
do we do that?’ and Doctor Fauci said, ‘by staying home and watching TV.’”
To this, Leno added, “If
there is any war Americans are qualified and thoroughly prepared for it’s the
one fought with staying home and watching TV.”
Kind of comforting, I
think.
Keep up the fight, fellow folks
all over the land.
Thanks for the laugh, Mirka.
ReplyDeleteI know Maher and Leno were joking, but hearing the word "war" sets me on a journey through history. If only war were humorous. If only war were about watching TV, not killing and maiming people. If only war were only about sitting on a sofa gazing at a screen, not pillaging, destroying, raping. The word war is used so indiscriminately, often to describe things more dramatically. We're dealing with a virus, folks, not the fatal result of decisions made by men in power, decisions that command or allow others to act in inhumane ways.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the "fatal decisions made by men in power" does apply to the Covid crisis in some instances. IMHO:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laugh! We sure need it right now. It made me think of one of our favorite shows, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfield. I can't remember if he had Leno on that show, but I really enjoyed hearing comedians "talk shop" about their creative process.
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ReplyDeleteThe comment above from my friend Mirka Knaster (not me, alas) relates to real wars.
ReplyDeleteI don't think "the war on a virus" or "the war on drugs" or "the war on crime" or the literary term "war with oneself" are wars at all, but struggles. However, our health officials' chose to call the current pandemic a war, and that is what brought on Leno comment. I did find his retort both funny and a true observation.
Staying home isn't bad, huh? I am getting a lot less work done, though. I'm so glad I wrote 5 books already this year because my schedule would be in serious trouble if I hadn't.
ReplyDeleteWell, the military has been brought in here to assist the understaffed nursing homes where the virus has been especially devastating, so maybe the word "war" isn't so inaccurate.
ReplyDeleteLove the joke. Thanks, Mirka.