Back In Black

Most of you by now surely know about my friend Liz, who died last year. I have talked about her many times and have thought about her even more. But most of you may not know that prior to her death, she had planned to move in with me. We were going to be roommates. And I promised her I would take her out to many places and that we'd have so much fun. And we would have...

One thing you need to know about Liz is that she was a big fan of comedy. She loved to laugh. She loved to joke around. She loved showing off her razor-sharp wit and intense sarcasm. Those around her loved it too. ... And she loved going to comedy shows. I promised her that I would take her out to a bunch of them. Unfortunately, I never had the chance.

One of her favorite comedians was Lewis Black. So naturally upon first hearing months ago that he was coming to Seattle, I knew I would be going. On Saturday night, I did just that.

Although I've been wanting to see Lewis perform for a long time, I considered this as more of a tribute to Liz, especially since she would have been there right next to me had things turned out differently. And if I were rich, I still would have bought an extra seat just for her. Maybe that sounds insane but that's just how my silly little mind works.

I wore black that night. Aside from it being Lewis's last name, it also allowed me to pay respect to Liz's memory. It just made too much sense for me to wear anything else.

As for the show, Lewis was great of course. All night I couldn't help being fascinated with the thought that everyone around me came together for a few hours just to laugh. Thousands of people around me of all ages... all excited about the thought of laughing together and forgetting all the shit we go through in everyday life. Thinking about this somehow gave me a sense of hope for the world. And it made me realize just how powerful a simple thing such as comedy can really be.

With a night of full of laughter and thoughts of Liz, you can imagine how bittersweet it was for me. And I only hope that somewhere out there that night, Liz was laughing too.