Is it OK to Joke?

Even though I’m a comedian, one of the most common questions I’ve gotten since the surgery is whether or not it’s ok to make jokes about it.

After all, so many of my friends are comedians, why wouldn’t they?

The funny thing is, I never really considered that you wouldn’t joke about it. I mean, it is pretty funny, after all. You know, losing a foot. (I wouldn’t say I lost it, per se. I know where it is. It’s just not at the end of my leg anymore.)

Of course, it’s also sometimes not funny, and I get that. And I know why people would ask, and I respect that, too. It’s kind. And I don’t want to dissuade people from kindness. It’s so rare in the world these days.

So, thank you so much for asking. I mean that.

But, please joke with me. It’s my love language. It’s my way of coping with…everything. Always has been. And so, this situation isn’t any different.

Come with all of the jokes you have. The sicker, the better. I’m pretty comfortable with what happened, and who I am, and I won’t hold it against you. I don’t think that I have, ever in my life, said, “That seems inappropriate. Don’t joke about that.”

Jimmy is part of my life now, and I’m so happy to have him, and a life, for that matter. The alternative kind of sucked.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s much better to joke about a leg that I don’t have, than not joke about me being dead. At least I’m here to hear the former.

Of course, if I had died, I would totally expect you to make jokes about that, as well. I’d be laughing from beyond the grave.

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As always, if you have it in you, please give a thought to donating time or money to Hospice Austin. They do amazing work for people who are going through the hardest thing a person can face.

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