The Former Not The Latter

Met two former Atlanta comedians for dunch Sunday. They seemed relaxed and centered, more at ease with life than most active comics. Still witty and insightful, but without the bullshit bravado and always-on swagger. Hmm.

Al Shelton ditched dick jokes for the grander emotional range of songwriting. He’ll be playing in front of A Cappella books this Thursday at 8 p.m.

Kevin Bicknell now writes book reviews for the AJC and was briefly one of the few non-fascist contributors to Stomp and Stammer.

Back in the Atlanta open mic day Kevin and I started a script for a short mockumentary about an aspiring fluffer who has to overcome a cleft palette and gingivitis. It remained unfinished for years, a metaphor for my comedy: mildly amusing, slightly provocative but stilted, awkward and unfulfilled. This January I finally finished a draft and promptly fell into a funk not performing for weeks.

The comedian in me says to get a camera and film the damn thing just to put it to rest. The civilized man in me keeps eyeing that guitar I’ve been meaning to learn and the pile of books on my shelf.