Abraham Lincoln's Head on a Turtle's Body

My evening with David Sedaris was almost everything I had hoped for. He did several great readings, many of which left the huge audience at the three-tiered Overture auditorium roaring with laughter. His quick wit and extraordinarly funny analogies coupled with his sqeaky voice and short stature are a match made in comedic heaven.

Many of the readings he performed were ones I had not read previously. Although I wish he would have talked a bit more extemporaneously, he was clearly in his element when reading his work. The short Q&A session at the end, although brief, was also very interesting and humorous.

The biggest downer of the evening was that I had to go alone to the show and cancel dinner reservations at Fresco because Karen came down with a stomach flu of sorts about an hour before the show. I tried calling other friends to see if they might like to use the extra ticket, but after the first person I called replied, Who's David Sedaris?, I kind of gave up.

Albeit a little lonely, I enjoyed the show and many laughs with myself. Afterwards, trudging my freshly read copy of Sedaris' newest collection of short stories, When You're Engulfed in Flames, I tried to appear confident as I took a place in line to meet him and request that he sign my book. Unlike many other authors, Sedaris claims to love book tours and talking to the many people who stand in line to meet him. I can't say that I'd have the same outlook if I were in his shoes.

Anyhow, I eventually made my way to the front of the line, where I was rewarded with a quick caricature of Abraham Lincoln's head on a turtle's body, as well as a rather unotable exchange of words with David Sedaris. I very much enjoyed observing Sedaris interact with the people in front of me in line. There was a woman, probably my age, with her boyfriend. Sedaris asked her what she did for a living and she replied that she was a waitress. He took one look at her chest and replied, you could get a job at Hooters anytime. Wow, some people can get away with anything that comes out of their mouth.