Old friends, People!
I talked to Dave Attell for today's episode. I’ve known him for about 35 years. That's a long time. I’m old. He’s old. Not really old but getting there.
It's a strange thing, this getting older. There were years when I just felt like I was a comic among comics. I was frozen in a timeless state. I have no kids. I’ve been through stuff but I really think that having kids makes it very clear that you are aging. Your responsibilities change. Some part of you gives into a type of adulthood and reality about aging that I just never experienced. I’ve been frozen at around 35 for years. Now I’m finding that I’m 15 to 20 years older than many of my peers and it feels like it happened overnight. The night of my 60th birthday.
It’s okay, just odd. Dave Attell is in a similar boat. We’re a couple of aging, childless comics and oddly, but not completely surprising, we talk a lot about our aging parents. I don’t think I have any regrets about my life other than I feel a bit like I was delusional or I am a bit stunted. The only thing I guess that is unknown is if there is any way I’m going to change other than just getting older. I’m not being cynical, just realistic. I think I can handle it. I think I’m going to have to.
One of my best friends is 10 years older than me. So I am getting a bit of a preview. It’s not great, it just is. I was on stage the other night and said, ‘I’m sixty. I didn’t think I would make it this far. I’m not thrilled that I did. Because from what I can tell it doesn’t get better from here.’ It’s true. It’s a bit terrifying but painfully real and just the way life is.
I think it was a great time to talk to Dave. He’s really still one of the best comics ever. No one is quicker and no one is a better joke writer. I don’t know if he thinks that but most comics do. I don’t really know how people think of me. Now that I’m hitting this age it feels like I have to really look back at what I’ve done with my life and believe that it was important or impactful or relevant. I have to believe that without kids the best I can do is assess how I’ve grown up or haven’t, how my ideas have evolved. It’s tricky, gleaning meaning from the process of life if you don’t procreate. Again, no regrets about not doing it. I wasn’t cut out for it, but what does it all mean?
I don’t think about it much. I just wait for the new bits.
New bits make it all worth it. Then they become old bits and just fade into the rearview. Even the specials I have done. So many bits. Most people have never seen them. I’ve done over 1,500 interviews. This is the work, bits and talks.
I will say that when someone comes up to me and says ‘that bit you did 20 years ago stuck with me’ or ‘that talk you did changed my life’ I feel like my kids are out there making a difference in the world.
That’s not nothing and I don’t have to send them money.
As I said, today I talk to Attell. On Thursday I talk to the great Eddie Pepitone. He’s another old, childless bit-maker. Good week.
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron
