Michael picked me up in Harlem. He took me to HA Comedy Club in Times Square
to try and get me a set in front of the manager to ultimately get me a show
and/or a lot of regular spots at the club.
Before HA we went to a Thai place.
I told him I was going to get a sugar daddy. As a painter and a comedian making $50-$100
bucks a show – a sugar daddy seemed like a practical approach to remain in the
arts. He goes "but then you have to
sleep with a saggy old guy" And I
laughed and was like "EEEEWWWWW !!!" deflated that I hadn't really
thought out my plan that far.
He made me laugh.
He had a cool detachment that made him interesting. But he also had depth. He talked about being a recovered drug addict. He was asking me about what I was doing with
the comedy. He also asked what happened
to my marriage. These were tough
questions, particularly the marriage one.
It was an abusive marriage and hard to talk about. Looking back, I realize I didn’t really know
what I was doing with my life or my
career. I didn’t have any money and I
was trying to put back together the pieces of my life like Humpty friggin
Dumpty. And I mean, who wants to cut to
the chase and say “yeah I’m broke and depressed.” I was not comfortable talking about
that. I craved that kind of honest,
open dialogue. I'm sure I talked and
kavetched to my friends endlessly, as one does after a breakup, but that is
just complaining, it isn't necessarily open, honest conversation. That's hard to come by. And I could have had that with Michael who,
from recovery, I imagine, is well versed in people airing their dark stuff with
no judgment. But I guess I wasn't ready
at the time. He had recorded two
storytelling radio hours on NPR and had done some television. His career was taking off and I hadn’t even
made the leap to New York yet.
Another time we hung out, there was a big fund-raising
event at Webster Hall that included music, art and standup. The standup segment was in a large room with
a stage and several bars, somewhere within the labyrinth of the many rooms that
makeup the massive nightclub and concert hall.
We walked around after his set downstairs where they were selling
merchandise. He tried to buy me
underwear but I was embarrassed. So
instead he bought me a pair of black, fingerless gloves with a revolver on the
left glove. We made our way upstairs on
to a level that overlooked a giant stage below.
The art was hanging on this level.
We conversed with the other comic and his girlfriend for a few and
walked around a little. It wasn’t
anything earth shattering, just cool, and I realized I liked being with
him. The event was really an interesting
concept, but it was a little helter skelter, because there was so many things
going on, so we left.
He dropped me off in
Harlem where I was staying with a friend.
I told him that was my gay boyfriend’s house… and he laughed and said
“your what?” Then he texted me later
that night that in three separate texts...
ANGEL
OF
HARLEM
-originally published in Recipes For A Broken Heart, compiled by Dr. Laura Hayden. You can buy a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Recipes-Broken-Heart-Laura-Hayden-ebook/dp/B00TN1UVS8
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