From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...
After the horrific terror attacks of 9/11/01, the entertainment industry kinda shut down. There was too much to process and too many to mourn to allow ourselves to simply slip back into day-to-day life. But, even in the darkest tragedies, people get antsy for something more. Our basic needs still exist, to eat, to drink, to be among others. And social interaction leads to other things; the need to enjoy. The need to laugh.
In so many ways, all eyes were on New York City. Not just for what had happened, but for what and who we were. NYC is one of the broadcast centers of the nation. And, slowly, the media began to shake off the darkness. We all know how Letterman, John Steward, SNL and even Howard Stern started up their shows-both trying to acknowledge the change while conceding that some things, like the need to laugh, never change.
Half way across the country, PHC had been on its hiatus with reruns for the summer. Their season opener was set for 10/10/01. Not for nothing, but by that time, my day job had been back up and running in Lower Manhattan for weeks. We were pressing forward, step by step, with the ashes and smoke still drifting out of Ground Zero. Work pushed us forward. But, on the freelancing front, try writing comedy.
I tried. I alternated between bits that acknowledged the attack and others that didn't. It wouldn't be until the end of the month, with Halloween, that I went back to normal. Until then, it was working it out through the show's established characters. And a theme became the near-commercialization of the tragedy. Everyone and every business seemed to be jumping on the patriotic wagon, so that became a subject that I could poke fun of. As is a theme of these posts, this wasn't used. I thought it quite topical and whimsical, but it didn't make the cut. So, I've been trying to post these around the time they were created, (in lieu of the actual anniversary of 9/11), we present:
In so many ways, all eyes were on New York City. Not just for what had happened, but for what and who we were. NYC is one of the broadcast centers of the nation. And, slowly, the media began to shake off the darkness. We all know how Letterman, John Steward, SNL and even Howard Stern started up their shows-both trying to acknowledge the change while conceding that some things, like the need to laugh, never change.
Half way across the country, PHC had been on its hiatus with reruns for the summer. Their season opener was set for 10/10/01. Not for nothing, but by that time, my day job had been back up and running in Lower Manhattan for weeks. We were pressing forward, step by step, with the ashes and smoke still drifting out of Ground Zero. Work pushed us forward. But, on the freelancing front, try writing comedy.
I tried. I alternated between bits that acknowledged the attack and others that didn't. It wouldn't be until the end of the month, with Halloween, that I went back to normal. Until then, it was working it out through the show's established characters. And a theme became the near-commercialization of the tragedy. Everyone and every business seemed to be jumping on the patriotic wagon, so that became a subject that I could poke fun of. As is a theme of these posts, this wasn't used. I thought it quite topical and whimsical, but it didn't make the cut. So, I've been trying to post these around the time they were created, (in lieu of the actual anniversary of 9/11), we present:
