An Open Letter to...

Me and Dane Cook, November 6, 2010

I considered posting my letter/email that I wrote to Dane Cook early this morning, but within the next moment I decided not to. It's a personal letter and one that he only should read. I will post my thoughts on why I wrote the letter below.. enjoy :)

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I find it amazing how shows and people (artists, comedians) affect me. I've seen Dane six times over the years and met him three. Each performance I take away something different. This past weekend the show we enjoyed at Mohegan Sun in CT was one of the best I'd seen. As I wrote to him, I still can't put my finger on why it was that way, but whatever it was, he killed, the crowd loved it and I was back in love with his comedy again.

It didn't hurt that I got to chat with him afterward and give him my personal congrats. He's a great guy, that Dane Cook. He gets a lot of flack about his comedy. I am never sure why. Many people literally hate it--and him. I think a lot of people think he sold out or just uses his looks to rake in fans and fill seats, but in all honesty, if he wasn't good, no one would show up. I know many good looking and charismatic musicians.. you don't see all of them filling arenas every night due to their good looks.

His comedy is different, I guess you could say. He's a storyteller. I happen to like that. I love a lot of different types of comedy from the snip-its of Mitch Hedburg or Steven Wright, to the storytelling of Bill Cosby and Dane Cook. Either way, I give him a lot of props.

The guy works hard. You can't take that away from him and he's humble. I think that's why I love him so much. Not only for his comedy and how he tells it, but for who he is as a person. There's not many people in this world who I consider inspiring--he is one of them. As I was reflecting last night on the handful of people that do inspire me, all of them are quite different. Different ways of being, different careers, but all have many of the same qualities. They are authentic, risk takers and never give up. Most are humble in their ways, passionate about what they do, and in turn, tend to inspire so many other people by who they are. These are people you just want to be around all the time. I'm actually having "withdrawals" two days after the fact as I'm just "hungry" for that energy. That feeling of being totally accepted by a person, loved, listened to.. being in the presence of someone who is present. It's so awesome.

Being with him and some of the other folks the other night reminded me that I want to be that type of person. I'm always fairly hard on myself so who knows? I may be that for some now, but I feel I have a ways to go. I'm definitely feeling the urge to start something new, to find my calling and to re-find the things that truly light me up. Many of those things have been gone, missing, for some time and it's time to get them back.

I will say publicly that I still have a dream to work with Dane on a professional basis. There was a point a few years ago where I was actively pursuing this. I was working with some folks regarding my resume and writing a letter to him to introduce myself not as a fan, but as a person he'd be interested in working with. Nothing ever happened with all that (as in a job), but after I spoke with him Saturday night, all that came flooding back. One small issue is that he's in LA and I'm in Boston with a family, but odder things have happened.

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2010 has been some year. I was thinking about that in the car just a few minutes ago and realized, although some of it was rough, my husband, my daughter and I really had an amazing 2010. I wouldn't have guessed that I'd start the year dancing in negative temps on a rooftop in Minneapolis. I also wouldn't have guessed that my husband and I would spend a three day weekend without our daughter at a music festival in Austin, and I definitely wouldn't have guessed I'd be seeing Dane and Al backstage last Saturday, all with huge hugs and fun conversations. I WANT more of that type of stuff. Surprises that come out of no where and hug you.. not the one's that knock you down, but a quick surprise and hug is nice.

I still have a month and a half to create what I want, not only for 2011, but for the rest of this year! I can dream all I want, but action is what will make it happen.. onward and upward, as they say.. here we go.