Let Down

The last couple days I have written about my new enterprise, submitting two line jokes based on news articles to a local sketch comedy show. Saturday I wrote of getting into it and yesterday of having a joke accepted. That second post was titled "Few Will Win", and little did I know how appropriate that would be for today's post. Of course I knew it was possible that my joke or jokes would be cut or manhandled, but I don't know that I really expected it. I just thought my jokes were too good.

As it happened, no joke of mine was delivered as I wrote it. If I am being generous to myself, I will say that they used half of a joke of mine. They took the kernel inside and wrote a new shell to house it in. I can still see myself as having had a real achievement, but it's not so easy to feel the laughter in response to a joke that is only partly mine, and whose other part happened in my absence. I don't begrudge them doing what they must do to make the best show possible, of course.

I was, after the show finished, a little down. I was disappointed at the very least, and not as eager to socialize as I had thought I would be. I probably would have headed home immediately, as I had a relatively early morning ahead of me, but was encouraged to stay and get my spirits up on account of friends being there to see another show. That worked out fairly well, although I sagged anew after I parted ways with them.

I'm certainly not through with submitting the jokes, I ought to say. I did not have the full success that I wanted the first time out, but I had a partial success. I made a contribution and I got to see the show for free just like any other writer or performer they'd have. I'll keep plugging away, and when I do have a success, I'll know that it really means something. When I don't, I'll know not to beat myself up too much, and sometime or another, I'm certain I'll get to join their staff as a regular. I know I'm good enough.