Some Thoughts I Had Flying Cross-Country with 2 Kids Under 3 Years Old (in Haiku Form)

Some Thoughts I Had While Flying Cross-Country with 2 Kids Under 3 Years Old (in Haiku Form)

1. It’s incredible

   that people ever do this

   at all, even once

2. More tarmac delays?

   You must be trying to kill

   my entire spirit

3. This is not easy

   But we’re doing much better

   than those other kids

4. I spoke too soon, we

   are all in a plane of screams.

   Please help us, Bluey

5. We’re so close and yet

   the final sixty minutes

   last for centuries

6. Oh god, I forgot

   now we have to all drive home

   It’s another hour

7. Several days pass

   I forget the screams and tears

   Let’s do it again?

My upcoming events and other projects:

VIRTUAL EVENT: Thursday, August 20th at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Finding the Funny in Hard Times. I’ll be doing a live conversation with the Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley). It’s free and open to the public (1000+ signed up to attend already!), but you need to RSVP if you want to join them.

SAN DIEGO BOOK FESTIVAL: Saturday, August 22nd from 12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Pacific Time at the University of San Diego. I’ll be doing a book talk, signing, and Q&A as part of the fest sponsored by KPBS! Free and open to the public. RSVP here.

ASPEN, CO: Thursday, September 24th at 7:30 p.m. at the Wheeler Opera House. The night before the Aspen Literary Festival begins, I’m going to be doing a comedy show with two of my funniest friends (who also happen to be Emmy-nominated writers for Colbert). Join me, Carley Moseley, and Asher Perlman as we perform comedy, talk about our books, and answer audience questions. It’s going to be a very fun night. Laugh More Everyday at the Wheeler Opera House

MY BOOK: Humor Me is out in bookstores everywhere

MY PODCAST: Robert Moor’s book In Trees is one of the most beautiful nonfiction books I’ve ever read. It’s the product of more than a decade of research and reporting and it has completely changed how I think about the natural world. I was so glad Robert came on the podcast and talked about what we can learn from trees. You’re not going to hear a conversation like this from anyone other than him. Highly recommend giving this episode a listen! What trees can teach us about life (w/ Robert Moor) | How to Be a Better Human

This week’s list

GREAT:

Sarah Kay published a new poem in The Adroit Journal and it’s a beautiful one. Reading her poetry always reminds me how good poetry can be and how a good poem can floor you with its words and imagery. “Two Boys on the Subway” by Sarah Kay

Related: Not new, but a classic that feels thematically linked: Danusha Laméris’ “Small Kindnesses”

FUNNY:

I’ve never crossed paths with Elijah Nevels doing standup, but I could not relate more to this hilarious video he posted of a show he did where there was only one single person in the audience. We have all been there before. What’s different though is that Elijah has a great sense of humor about the situation and he ends up turning an empty show into one of the funniest stand up clips I’ve seen online. Elijah Nevels: The show must go on

INTERESTING:

Two people who I’ve worked with on live events, Nawar Nemeh and Kelly Rafferty, wrote essays about the (separate) shows we collaborated on. Both essays were so thoughtful! I felt like they really captured the spirit of the events and made me think about them in a new way.

Here’s Kelly on our upcoming virtual show: “I spent a summer at Second City and all I got was this will to live.”

And here’s Nawar on why we’ve spent years putting together scientists and comedians for a panel show: Wrong Answers Only: A Night of Comedy in Washington D.C.

BONUS FOR PAYING SUBSCRIBERS:

Paying subscribers make Bright Spots possible! Subscribers get access to special features as well as all posts in the archive. Paying subscribers also get my undying gratitude (which never dies). It’s never too late to join them!

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading! Please share Bright Spots with anyone you think might enjoy it.

Share

Hiding inside an airplane bathroom,

Chris Duffy

This has been Bright Spots, a newsletter.

…wait, who are you?

I’m Chris Duffy. I’m a comedian, I host TED’s How to Be a Better Human podcast, and I’m both a former fifth grade teacher and a former fifth grade student. I wrote a book called Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy that’s out now from Doubleday.