Outside Reading 2

"Born Standing Up" starts out with a Beforehand chapter. He briefly talks about his stand up career in general. He says he spent 18 years in stand up, ten years learning, 4 years refining, and 4 years making it big. He recalls that he never enjoyed actually doing his routine. He was always thinking about what and when to say next. He did enjoy the after show elation. He also says that being a stand up comedian is the ego's last stand. The 70's were his years, as he spent most of his stand up career in that time period. He has lots of memories of the time, but no actual memory of the actual performance. He says that all routines at every venue are the same; on stage, blinded by lights, and looking into darkness. He also explains that distractions really hurt a comic's performance. He explains that many times he had to worry about the sound system, ambient noise, hecklers, drunks, lighting, sudden clangs, latecomers, and loud talkers. He closes this chapter by saying that he considers this book more of a biography than a auto biography because he is writing about someone he use to know.