The Sport of People-Watching

Clear back in December, I heard that Ron "Tater Salad" White was going to be having a tour stop near us in May, so immediately bought tickets in anticipation of Mike's birthday. (For those of you that are not fans, he is a scotch-drinking, cigar-smoking comedian that tours with the Blue Collar Comedy Tour...Bill Engvall, Larry the Cable Guy, Jeff Foxworthy, and Ron White.) Mike is a fan, and so I thought it would be fun to go see Ron perform in person.

Now........let me mention that he just recently released, in conjunction with the new tour, a new DVD titled, "Behavioral Problems." Mike already knew that I had tickets to the show, but I also bought the new DVD and gave it to him on his actual birthday, as kind of a "theme gift." Of course, we watched the new DVD right away, which is BY FAR, the rudest and crudest of his work. (Some of it is, in fact, so downright appalling that I sat on our couch in stunned silence. However, for me at least, it was a good thing that I had heard it before last night. It kind of allowed me to brace myself in advance, as I knew what to expect. Consider this a warning...if you feel inclined to go out and buy tickets or the new DVD. Send the kids to bed BEFORE watching!)

So......there we were last night. Great tickets. Surrounded by a huge crowd of rowdy people. And here comes Ron White with 90 minutes of trash-talking comedy. Since I had heard much of the routine on DVD before, it allowed me to listen with one ear, while I watched all the people around us. It was interesting to watch people!! Who laughed at what? Was it courtesy laugh type laughter, or did it appear genuine? We had two age 60-ish couples seated directly in front of us that laughed at virtually nothing. Even from the backs of their heads, their posture in their seats suggested that they were just hoping that the whole show would be over soon, and that on the way out, they wouldn't see anybody they knew. I think maybe they were expecting the Smothers Brothers. Oops! Wrong show........

Overall, it was a fun experience! Made even better by the fact that Mike put a $20 bill into a slot machine in the casino, and almost immediately took out $237.00. Ka-Ching!