I have done stand up comedy for 6 years but we moved to NY not for comedy but so my autistic son JJ could attend a special school.  That being said this is the comedy mecca.

 

Once we moved here, I started going to the different comedy clubs in the city to try to get stage time.  Now one of the most prestigious comedy clubs is the Comic Strip Live.  It is where Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Eddie Murphy and Jerry Seinfeld all started.

 

The club is loaded with history.  The walls are littered with headshots of the famous, before they were famous.

 

Anyhow for whatever reason I got a few spots at this club within the first month of me getting here.  It understandably rubbed some people the wrong way.

 

I overheard a comedian telling another comedian something mean about how I had gotten the stage time.   I did not appreciate it.

 

He is much bigger than me but well, I am no shrinking violet so I walked over and confronted him about it.

 

To be honest this is how I have gotten into more than a few fights.  Things escalate a little, I forget that I don’t like to be punched in the face, I jump to, “you know we can take this outside”.

 

We had a nice spirited chat, in doors.  And I am proud to say it did not escalate to a fistfight.  So I am growing as a human, or he is a mature adult, either way, Yahoo.

 

I remember thinking, why would he say that about me when I am 8 feet away.  What am I invisible?

 

Anyhow ran into him last night, over a year later, again at the Comic Strip.

 

We were talking about this blog, my son, and his issues.

 

Me: We think in addition to the others issues; my son also has Tourette’s.

Him: I have Tourette’s

Me: Really?

Him: Yep

 

(In my mind) Well that explains our little issue we had.  Maybe you couldn’t help but blurt out those things even though you knew I was close by.

 

And then I felt really guilty.

 

Once again, I had judged someone.  I was ready to fight someone for doing something that they may not have had total control over.

 

I felt like an idiot.

What if we could be a little more patient with each other, how many stupid arguments could be avoided?

 

How many fights could I have avoided over the years if I could have been a little more patient and a little less sensitive?

 

Maybe he had a rough childhood.  Maybe his mom just died.  Maybe he has Tourette’s.

 

Maybe I need to not judge.