I have recently become an avid listener of The Nerdist Podcast. I really enjoy that the interviews they do are usually around an hour long and, for the most part, unedited. It’s a long enough conversation that you really feel like you’ve gotten to know someone. I usually listen to them on earbuds while I walk, and most of you know that I sometimes walk in cemeteries. It’s not creepy. Honestly. Try it sometime, they are a nice, quiet place to walk or jog.
So today I checked which podcast had downloaded and was pleasantly surprised to see that the host, Chris Hardwick, was interviewing Kristin Bauer Van Stratten, probably best known for her role as Pam on True Blood. True Blood is (WAS, since the show just ended last week) one of my favorite shows and Pam is probably everybody’s favorite character. I couldn’t wait to find out how much the actress was like her character.
So I laced up my running shoes, cued up The Nerdist and headed for Scandinavian Cemetery to work out my glutes on some hills. When you spend a little time in cemeteries you are inevitably going to come across some people mourning or placing flowers and occasionally an open grave or even a funeral. I always keep a respectful distance and stay on the roads. Usually you can tell there is a funeral nearby because of all the cars (and the hearse) parked along the road. So it’s easy to know what areas to avoid.
The Nerdist is always funny. The host, Chris Hardwick, is a stand-up comedian and has a show on Comedy Central being funny is just natural for him. He is my kind of people. Today with the guest being an actress I was predisposed to like from a show I am a big fan of for several years now, well, let’s just say my funny bone was particularly tickled. I was chuckling to myself through the entire show. Kristin Bauer Van Stratten is smart and funny without even trying. Pairing her with the crew from The Nerdist made her even better.
So I am jogging along, maybe laughing a bit more than usual, but still paying attention...I thought. Sure enough I come around a curve and there is a full-on funeral, tent, crying family, casket and all, about 10 feet in front of me. First of all, they must have all come on foot, because I hadn’t seen a single car in the entire cemetery...and….it was about 8:45am!!! Who has a graveside at 8:45 in the morning?!?!? Of course they all look up at me immediately; a large sweaty man wearing earbuds and shorts, with a smirk on his face. The officiant gave me a particularly vile stink-eye.
I made a big circle around them, feeling like an ass the entire time, but still listening intently to Kristin and Chris yuck it up on The Nerdist. Just as I was passing behind the grieving family Kristin (we’re on a first-name basis now) told the story of reading the reviews for camp toilets on Amazon, since she had just purchased one. I won’t (I couldn’t if I TRIED) try to recount the story here, but as soon as Kristin uttered the word “tree fiddy” I lost it. I mean burst out, full belly laugh. It was the funniest thing I have heard in a LONG time. For a brief moment I forgot that I was probably 15 feet away from a grieving family, sitting in front of the casket of their departed loved one. I put some distance between them and me, as quickly as I could and then very reluctantly, like Lot’s wife, glanced back over my shoulder. Most of them, particularly those standing around the open grave, were still staring at me like they wanted to string me up. Of course I was still laughing. Probably laughing louder than I thought I was because you tend to do that when you wear earphones or earbuds.
Of course I feel bad. But I am torn because the whole hour-long interview was a laugh I desperately needed. So I am using my blog to get a couple of things off my chest:
2. If you buried a loved one at Scandinavian Cemetery this morning; I am truly very sorry. Please let me know where and I will gladly drop off a casserole.
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