Laughing at old misery

Magic man (framed poster @ Visible Voice Books last night) – foto Smith

Last night’s memoir reading was a blast. Lady started reading some super sad soap opera stuff from 1971 where my first wife and I were fighting all the time and I was having trouble with her quintuple adulteries and this passage: “My waitress just coughed into my coke cup and then filled it with coke and coughed twice more into it. I sat it down on the floor and walked away.”

As she was reading all this misery she started giggling and laughing uncontrollably, as did the audience. Here’s all my suffering laid out in public and I and everyone are laughing like mad. Great reading. Sold two books; everyone else had already had one.

Two Japanese haiku: 1st is life from birth to death, the 2nd the in-between. The two bowls in the first haiku refer to the birthing bowl the new born babe is washed in, while the second bowl is the funeral bowl used to wash the corpse.

From washing bowl
to washing bowl my journey —
and just rigamarole

— Issa (1762-1826)

To ears
defiled by sermons —
a cuckoo

— Shiki (1867-1902)

And then there’s Lady reading tonight at Gypsy Beans . . .

26 Oct — Lady K reads at 6:30pm for the Shoreway Poets at Gypsy Beans & Baking Co. 6425 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44102 — facebook.com/events/152711358207698/.

& Sunday’s reading at Pat’s in the Flats (which I host) . . .

28 Oct — Poetry at Pat’s in the Flats #3, the Fall session, featuring poets Charlotte Mann, Blayne Hoerner Murray, Tom Adams, Adam Brodsky, Cavana Faithwalker, music by Tom Orange, and a magic open mic. Sunday 11:30am – 3pm. Poetry at Pat’s happens four times a year, hosted by me and my bubbleblow jar, to which I might add two musical steel balls. Pat’s in the Flats: 2233 West 3rd Street Cleveland, OH 44113 — patsintheflats.com

6 of my remaining 8 bottom teeth – foto Smith