The Holiday That Americans Have Overlooked

Have you seen this season's "Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg" yet? If you haven't, there's still plenty of time. Through March 28^th, the show presents informal weekly interviews with stand-up comedians filmed before a studio audience. An interview with Jerry Seinfeld kicked off the second season. Witty, amusing, entertaining and droll as ever, he quipped halfway through the interview: "I don't need this."

What? Had he turned his back on his fans, the very ones that spent countless hours watching him and his zany friends doing "nothing" for almost a decade? The "show about nothing" was anything but. It was an account of life in the 90's...our lives. Granted, it was a bit more bizarre; but, who of us haven't driven several hundred miles to cash in on refundable bottles? I'm talking BEFORE gas was so expensive.

"I don't need this" was merely a tongue-in-cheek remark in which the guest suggested that the only reason he was on the show was to repay Steinberg for his early influence on many aspiring comedians including himself. In reality, entertainers need an audience as much as we need them. Or, maybe WE need them even more.

Comedians on Strike

Can you imagine if all comics, including comedians and writers, decided to go on strike? People would be in danger of losing their sense of humor without their favorite funny person lighting the way through the dark, mundane existence of daily life. Without their influence, knock- knock jokes would end badly with nobody knowing who's there; and, if somebody slipped on a banana peel, would anyone really laugh? It would be something akin to the sound of a falling tree in the woods should nobody be there to hear it.

You may scoff that such a seemingly jovial group of people would organize and strike; but, everybody wants recognition. Money, laughter, and admiration from their fans may not always be enough to sustain them. They may demand, still, a national holiday set aside just for them.

After all, they deserve more respect than a Groundhog named Phil