Probably everyone is tired of this story by now. I didn't bring it up to go over the whole thing again, but for those who don't know, on that night I unintentionally shined my laser pointer at the county sheriff's helicopter and was subsequently prosecuted and sentenced to 30 days in the county jail. I wish I could point you to my previous blog. In that blog I described what happened that night, all the court shenanigans I went through, and the details of serving my sentence. Unfortunately, I lost that blog a few years ago without having saved the text, which I deeply regret.
I know my posts have been morose of late. This isn't meant to be another in the series. It's a coincidence really. I was quite aware pf the anniversary last week, and seeing Don tonight made me feel that it would be a good blog topic. (Well, at least it's something to write about.)
I've always been thoroughly mixed about the whole thing. Me, personally, I'm embarassed and ashamed of what happened. Whenever I stop to remember that I now have a criminal record, it makes me feel about an inch tall. On the other hand, if I take a step back, part of me is fascinated about having gone through the whole process. It would be an understatement to say that I learned a lot about myself during that time. I also learned a lot about society around me. Particularly interesting has been the reactions I've received over the years. I would say that 90% of the people I've met and explained the situation to have laughed it off. My old manager at FirstAm used to make jokes about it, in fact. My parents, who started off much more sober, have recently started to tease me about it whenever the opportunity arises. (And, man, does it seem to arise an awful lot.)
Almost every single comic I've ever told about it has said over and over that I need to use the whole thing as material. I was always reluctant to do so when I was actively performing because I was still on probation at the time. Now that my probation has expired, I would very much like to use it on stage. One comic, however, when he found out, was not at all amused, and I had to reassure him that, despite the levity that usually accompanied the story, I was quite aware of how serious my offense was.
Despite getting embarassed when teased about it, I'm pretty emotionally detached now after four years. It's now part of my history— in fact, given how dull my life is, it's one of the most interesting parts of my history. I have been counseled (not professionally!) to forget the whole thing and put it behind me, but the experience is too valuable to do that. In addition to motivating me to refrain from further legal stupidity, I've always felt there was a book in the experience. In fact, over the years, I've played around with an outline and even tentatively titled it. As it stands now in my head, it's a "semi-autobiographical novel." I hope to write it someday, but who knows, eh?
I hope tonight's post means that I'm coming out of the funk I've been in lately. No promises. I'll be leaving next Saturday to spend a few days in Las Vegas, and the thought of that trip has been buoying my spirits. I'll be meeting family there and eating well, but probably the most gladdening thing about the trip is the thought of having a decent hotel room to myself for three full days. Ah, AC!
I promised a serialized story coming up soon. I'm currently tossing around a few ideas for it. Don't expect too much from it. It will doubtlessly be the highest form of fluff. In the past, however, I've found that I could successfully work the serial form, and my previous ventures have always attracted readers.
Thanks for sticking around. Hope to see you again soon!
"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."— Samuel Johnson
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