Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Turnabout's Fair Play...

Or The Joke Could Be On You....

I have several items that need to escape my brain and free me for other things... That's what it's like for me as a writer. Something will bug my brain until I write it down or tell someone.
.
FIRST: The German Shepherd/Kitten photo (photographer unknown) I had as my profile pic (aw big brudder ya got my wittle ear all wet...):



The German shepherd licking the kitten's ear reminds me of three things:
1. When we were kids, my big brother would say, "Hey come here. I need to tell you something important." I would go up close to him and he would burp in my ear... (I play straight man in the comedy of life)


2. Sometimes I feel like a little kitten and God is this big German Shepherd bending down and licking my face all over..."It's alright, Katie... I'll take care of you."

3. That warm, fuzzy feeling that something is working out for the good, just around the corner... there I almost see it. And that makes me want to cry...

SECOND: If I could do a "Make A Wish" it would be this:

Get a chance to play "straight man" to Richard Belzer—or just the "fall guy," you know, the schlemiel to his schlimazel. I don't even care who is in the audience or if there's just a few people... Or at least get teased by him. That would be such an honor and oh so much fun......(Thanks, Richard...)

Would be like teaming up with my brother, again—the way we did when we were younger. Besides family for audience, there were Radio DJ's at the local country music stations & neighbors. Would be like a memorial to my brother who loved working in the theater.

What's your "Make A Wish?" You know, the best thing to do with dreams and wishes—follow them—if possible. Cause time is way too short to wait back stage or on the sidelines of your life. Mine just might have a chance of coming true...(now wouldn't that be wild...)

Which leads me to something that I got worried about sharing....

“Do jokes somehow address a concern, a primal concern that we have? Yes, they do. They deal with things that are almost incomprehensible. They’re ways of controlling the uncontrollable…That’s the best thing we can hope for in comedy: honesty.” 51 & 52 of How To Be A Stand Up Comic by Richard Belzer (with Larry Charles & Rick Newman) ©1988

My satirically dry, cynically sarcastic humor is really my own personal safety valve—a way of staying sane among the lemmings. While living with an almost incomprehensible nightmare, I have found structure within what I have very little control over.

My ability to make others laugh just seems to come naturally—like a gift I didn't ask for. At times I barely have to make a conscious effort. Sometimes I wonder what everyone is laughing at. Yet I love the sound.


Though I'm learning to hear the difference between the sound of nervous, defensive laughter, and the sound of a true release of tension. It's that release which happened the other night with my routine and the stressed out cashier. I made her night—and hearing that release gave me an awesome sense of joy—like I had really touched the miraculous. That's why I know that God has a sense of humor...
THIRD: If you pray for a comedian... the joke might just be on you.

Sometimes I see praying for prominent professionals as sort of a two-way practical joke—that they don't know I'm praying and I may never see how my prayers have affected their life. Well, that way of perceiving prayer changed this year.

 The kinds of trials I'm going through right now—I sure couldn't handle umpteen dozen years ago. Yet God in his best sense of humor Provided way ahead of time... and I just followed. Just didn't know what I was getting prepared for—that my husband would be arrested for something that never happened.

God told me to pray for two actors since November of 2004. I finally chose to go to law school. Then I started praying for a third person, who happens to be an actor and a comedian.

But I didn't know about the comedian part when I started praying. At the time I only knew he was Jewish and that he reminded me of my brother, whom I missed very dearly. I mentioned the actor to my sister-in-law. She told me that he was a comedian and my brother had admired him. I could see why, due to similar personalities.

At any rate, I intensely studied logic for the Law School Admission test, which I took in June. After my husband gets arrested for a crime that never even happened, that depression I was in and out of due to my brother's death returned full force. Then in September, my stepfather dies. On October 30, I sensed this overwhelming intuition to pray all day for this actor/comedian.... and I had no idea why. Oh well... find out later.

About two weeks before Christmas/Hanukkah, that depression nose-dived...into the deepest, darkest valley—with no visible passage out. I don't even remember why now, but that Still Small Voice led me to look for pictures of this particular actor/comedian up on the web. On the same date I had the urge to pray—a photo had been taken of him with his signature smile—with a sparkle in his eyes I hadn't seen before!! I stared and stared at that picture—printed it up and put it on my bulletin board. I focused on that picture for days... wrote a humorous and heart-breaking essay to the Chairman. And Providence walked me back out into the light.

A/N Note: I felt awfully weird about this whole thing since I had wanted to share the above with the Chairman first...

 (Besides, why would he believe me?? That God has a sense of humor and more or less played a practical joke on me? I wonder...what would he think if he knew how that photo of his smile helped save my life?)

- Kat-Renée. =^..^=
A/N: Richard Belzer is an actor/comedian who plays Detective Munch on Law & Order: SVU
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©2006 by Kat-Renée Kittel. All Rights Reserved. Please be kind and give credits to author and founder of the Laughter Safety Valve Commission™. Thanks.


Got Chutzpah is inspired by The Chairman of The Laughter Safety Valve Commission™. (Dear Richard, Thanks for the hug.)

****(Original Post Approved with Safety Revisions. --- Signed by Mr. Anonymous, Chairman of LSVC) ****


(See comment below--left by Mr. Anonymous-- answering the last paragraph... and whatever else.. I don't know... My eccentricly meshugenah brain is still sorting out this conspiratorially cryptic comment left by the Chairman of the LSVC. )

***Cached pages are not authorized representations of this page nor do they represent the staff writer of this website. Previous page versions have been obliterated by the LSVC, Tech Publications Dept. The editorial staff of the LSVC are not responsible for Laughter Safety violations caused by any unauthorized use of outdated information.***

23 comments:

  1. Katie,

    Thanks for visiting my blog, Messianic Gentile. I am pleased that the hope sandwich has made a positive impression. Please come again.

    A question, how do you find time for blogging while in law school? You must be richly gifted, I guess.

    Many blessings...

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  2. Sorry I did not address your questions in my previous comment.

    No, I have not read the Witness book you mentioned. I took a coloquia (hooked on foniks wurked 4 me) in college on the holocaust. A frightening class.

    I visited the museum of tolerance in LA a few years ago. Saw Ann Frank's diary on display.

    That and a casual interest (I saw Schindlers List) is the extent of my experience and research. But the whole subject colors much of my thoughts and meditations. A profound tragedy on the world stage.

    I will pray for your family tonight.

    Blessings...

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  3. Hi Kat, thanks for visiting. If I could think of something sensible or funny to say, I would .. but this will have to do for the time being. :-)
    Blessings.
    (hey, we even get to see "Law and Order" in Aust... one of the better of the American imports .. grins)

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  4. Hi Kat~

    I've so enjoyed my visit here...you are a gifted writer (and funny!)...I found myself smiling, and then in tears, and then smiling again as I read your entry here.

    I have a big sloppy kisser of a German Shepherd here too! And my son's pulled the same trick (burping in the ear) on my daughter numerous times. How I wish that I could just have you over here for a cup of tea or something.

    You have been through alot! I shall be praying for you and your husband. Yes, God is good, definitely has a sense of humor too. He will always be Faithful to you. I am so sorry about your brother Michael...I have a brother Michael too. He's working on his thesis for his PhD in Physics. But I have 3 brothers, one of which I've felt like I've lost in many ways too. Jason was just officially committed to Whitfield, the MS state mental health institution yesterday...and my heart is grieving so for him right now. I haven't been able to write about it yet...it's a long story. I lost my Dad to a tragic car accident when I was 14. I know this pain of loss.

    Yes, praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - for others' needs, when you yourself are in dire straits... is truly the antecdote to your own situation. He will provide for you dear sister.

    I look forward to reading more of your writing, and am adding you to my prayers. Please do visit me ANYtime! I loved hearing from you.:)

    "After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before."~Job 42.10

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  5. Oh Kat! I just read your poem; Even The Thousandth Generation:
    For Our Daughter Yet Conceived

    Wow! It's beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing this with me. I pray that you and your husband would be reunited soon, and that Adonai would open your womb.

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  6. maybe the german shepard is just cleaning the kitten before he trys to eat it, everybody likes clean food, you should watch out god may be doing the same to you.

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  7. also visit my blogs at www.vst1.blogspot.com
    sorry force of habit..

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  8. Hey, you left a comment on my blog the other day. I just wanted to stop by and say hi. I have to admit ,sadly even, that I haven't seen the carpet at the downtown library since I haven't been there in years. I do think that the UFO landing is proof that the city planners are trying to make Wichita a little more interesting, a swing and a miss though, as it is. Now if only we can get a real UFO to land there then Wichita will really be on the map! Thanks for stopping by and I hope to hear from you again sometime soon.

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  9. A good relationship.

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  10. ::clears her throat::

    Is that a question? I mean did you actually smile on my account or am I just the poster child for Mitzvah Week? (not that I would actually mind the label or anything... Had a nursing home audience for years, but such a high turnover rate there...)

    So you think he would believe me, hunh??? Intriguingly interesting.

    My cat is sorta absentminded. He lost three Stars of David... You haven't seen any hiding anywhere, have you?

    Kind Regards,
    Katie. ^..^

    I'm doing better by the way...

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  11. I love your blog. I was drawn to it by your blog-name, "Teshuvah." Now doesn't that mean "return" or "repent" or something along those lines? Very cool! Now my only question is what exactally does "Chutzpah" mean... "agape" is greek for "love" isn't it? I'm very interested...

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  12. For anyone who has read my previous posts or have received correspondence from me in other venues so to speak...

    I changed the previous entries to reflect the fact that the bitterness is gone and I can forgive again... (and I plead the fifth for whatever I have previously said.)

    As I continue to maintain my husband's innocence, I know I am not alone and I promise I won't let myself get that badly depressed again -- even if that means getting psychological help and the dreaded "P" medication-- but I would rather eat chocolate!!! And a Jew in therapy how cliche-ish is that??? (To three very special praying friends--thank you.)

    Thank y'all for your prayers and deep concern for my welfare.

    How can I stay bitter when my heart is a rose guarded by a lion...

    Good Shabbos & Shabbat Shalom...

    -Katie.

    (But I'm still waiting for a certain hug... and that make a wish opportunity. ^..^ I like stages, microphones and cameras--they are my friend.

    What did you expect from the one and only eccentrically meshugunah -Sense and Sensibility??? Nohh...That's a Jane Austen Novel/Movie. ^..^)

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  13. sheesh, and someone called ME eccentric. I bow to the master (mistress? .. oh stop it Davo, you'll get lost in a flurry of words again).
    Shalom.

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  14. (a/n-This is an updated comment)

    Left Wes a comment on his site, but for those who might stop by and have the same questions:

    Yes.. Teshuvah means to "return" or turn around and go back to our origins -- to the Source - so to speak. "In the beginning was..." and all that. A very Jewish thing to do, according to Aish.com and Torah.org.

    I yahoo-searched the word Teshuvah. Entry #3 explains "my main reason" for re-identifying with teshuvah (which may or may not comply with everyone else's usage of this beautifully special word- I plead the fifth again.):

    "From Amazon.com - Teshuvah: A Guide for the Newly Observant Jew (Hardcover) ... The word 'Teshuvah' means 'to return' and this process in Judaism is taken to be a lifelong and continual one..."

    Agape = Greek for Unconditional Caring or Compassion.

    Chutzpah is Yiddish for Guts, Nerve, Audaciousness, Bold, Daring...

    or being an Original, like me -- like we were all created to be.

    With that in mind:

    Agape is a Five Letter Word...For Chutzpah means "Pledging to unconditional caring and compassion takes more guts than being a lemming."

    Remember to smile - you might just help save someone's life...

    Pledging to compassion, humanity and each other is an awfully darn good thing. (ref: Richard Belzer, July 4, 2005) You know like taking time to darn someone else's socks or something. I'm pretty good at mending holes in knitted clothing, actually. When I'm done, just looks like a "flaw" in the material.

    -----

    Davo... stop that, you're making me ROTFL again...

    Okay. Davo and I are referring to the following: If you Yahoo or MSN search for "Eccentrically Meshugunah" -- use the quotation marks--all you find is me. Be sure and use that spelling version of Meshugunah.

    The wonderful thing about Katies is... I'm the only one who's eccentrically meshugunah.

    lol.

    Life's definitely too much fun to be a lemming. ^..^

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  15. I did not read what the charges/accusations are against your husband, and it really does not matter to me. I have worked in prison ministry -mostly in Texas jails and prison farms- for 6 years. I have made a habit of not asking that question.

    However, I sympathize with the accused - even when guilty in many cases. Especially when I meet either particularly repentent or naive offenders. I am wired that way.

    I recognize that you are maintaining your husband's innocence. I will not dispute it. I will honor that. And I will tell you that someone very close to me has lived many years with a false accusation dogging his reputation. I to maintain this individual's innocence, though I have no way to prove it. Nevertheless I am sure of his innocence.

    Fortunately, the crime my loved one is accused of has never developed into official charges, and at this point that is extremely unlikely, thank God. But the crime he is accused of is a particularly ugly one, and had ruined his career among other things. It has been a deeply costly and painful experience for him and several close to him.

    I am presuming a lot here, but I suspect what I am saying might resonate with your story. I hope my sensitivity brings comfort and blessing. And I pray that the experience will make you more sensitive not less.

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  16. Thanks Mike for your empathic understanding. I appreciate the support of knowing that my husband and I are not alone.

    Thanks again for posting. Your compassion is greatly appreciated and one of the reasons why I will eventually attend law school.

    Before ceasing a monologue of commentaries and taking care of mundanities like balancing empty checkbooks, cleaning litter boxes and doing laundry, I’m posting here one more time, before working on the contents of the next column. Please be kind as I unwind…

    **Dear Anonymouse,**

    Having an IQ almost as high as yours—actually synonymouse to my LSAT score of 145, go figure—I perceived the compulsory necessity to clarify how I continue to contemplate the intriguingly interrelated dimensions of hidden comprehension that leaving a cryptic 3 word comment can generate. How very conspiratorially teasing of you-- making my brain work like that. I don’t mind though, it needed the exercise.

    Now if you happen to be a few inches taller than me, would you be so thoughtful as to help me down from the ceiling before I end up walking around on pallid atmospheric conditions again… I could use some chocolate… there should still be some in the big glass-measuring bowl on the kitchen counter. Thanks.

    Speaking of conspiracies, dear friend, i'm sure you're like so extremely busy and all that, but if you happen to have a minute, could you read and reply to my next column... -please. Should be up later tonight (CST).

    Davo, just one more thing.

    Thanks for the compliment of being the “mistress” of the eccentrically meshugunah, but that’s not hard when I seem to be the only one. I’m really only an amateur humorist and a closet comedian who comes out at night and makes customers and cashiers laugh in friendly neighborhood retail stores like Wal-mart or Walgreens and Office Depot. However the guys at the counter at my local post office run when they see me coming (not really…just “there she is again.” I have a high school friend who works there.)

    Now the day that a master of the craft tells me I’m even the slightest bit funny or made him/her smile… that might be an entirely different story…

    Kind regards and thanks for listening.

    Katie. ^..^

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  17. mm, am not a 'master' of anything very much. Just an ordinary bloke sitting on a stool in Australia.
    (stool? wipe yer bum, laddie)

    If it's any consolation, you make me grin.
    Cheers.

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  18. And Davo, you keep getting me to laugh again.

    Who says you can't get a hug over the internet...

    Oy vey, I'm in trouble I think...

    I really need to finish these litter boxes... so I can post my review of a certain book or two.

    ^..^

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  19. Hm. Anyone with a brain (or maybe even half) should believe in your husband's innocence.

    A quote to help you through (and it's one I'm using in my current work): "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he'll be a mile away--and barefoot." - Sarah Jackson

    And I'd add the rider--you'll understand; as does, mayhap, *Anonymouse*--make sure you swipe his glasses, too. (Some people need to be blinded before they can see.)

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  20. Okay, okay... I'm down from the clouds, I'm past the "stage fright" and I'm starting to get it.

    The Chairman thinks I'm naturally funny. Thanks for the "nudge" in the right direction.

    Well like my Big Brother says, you either have talent or you don't. But you have to use it or lose it.

    So I've been promoted to Apprentice and he prefers the "old country" spelling of my pen name.

    Reni.

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  21. Thanks. I needed to smile today. I think you put into perspective what really matters in my own life, because I just feel like I've had a bad start to the new year.

    Parents hounding on me to start applying for colleges and think about my future... sometimes I feel like God is just ignoring me because he just doesn't seem to be telling me what he wants for my life...

    ah well. maybe i'm not listening hard enough. So I guess everything will be ok. And know that I am praying for you and your husband.

    God Bless

    (originally posted with essay at previous site)

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  22. I read this on fictionpress, and I would have reviewed, but my pc is being stupid so here is my review: Very insightful, very clever!

    Elussive heart


    (Originally posted at previous site)

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  23. I believe God does have a sense of humor, I see it almost everyday. It's what most of us would call "irony".

    One thing I just have to comment about... I love Munch! Him and Fin are my favorite SVU characters.

    (originally posted with essay at a previous site)

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