anecdotes

I went to Trader Joes yesterday and the cashier had me laughing through the whole $30 transaction. She burned through three anecdotes with me, one about women with huge purses, one about gardening. I suppose they expect this from you, working at TJ's. I would expect for this to get tiresome after awhile. I can only be entertaining for a certain amount of time, especially if I'm not enjoying it.

I read an article in The New Yorker about Leslie Mann going on Letterman and reviewing her anecdotes beforehand, seeing which stories dragged on and which were light and funny. This makes sense.

One of my uncles is hilarious, but almost only when he's telling anecdotes. The short stories need a little bit of time to get out and if the conversation is moving too quickly he cannot play his cards.

I think women are generally socialized to be a good audience, not good comediennes. I have to know FOR SURE that my story is amazing to take a breath and jump into telling it. It requires a lot of nerve in less than safe environments.