Sleepwalk With Me

By the wonderful Mike Birbiglia

As you may know, I’ve got a bit of an obsession with the This American Life podcast. Sadly, it’s the only motivation I have to wake up at the crap of dawn on Mondays and spend over an hour on the train.

In other words, I listen to it as soon as it’s up on iTunes.

Months ago, one of the “acts” was done by a comedian telling a story about sleepwalking. I still remember where I was when I heard it. I had just come off the Subway at 81st and Central Park West and was on my way to pick up the dog at the groomer.

Usually, I don’t walk down the street with my earbuds. But in this case, I was too involved to even think about turning off the iPod, or to worry about the fact that I was walking down the street laughing. 

And then Ira Glass announced that they’d borrowed this segment from something called the Moth, and that the comedian was Mike Birbiglia. 

Fast forward a few months to when The Moth is another obsession, to the point that I’m a member and now go to story slams. 

And let’s not forget my Twitter obsession and the fact that I follow all things relating to TAL, The Moth, PRI or Mike Birbiglia.

Which is how I ended up here this afternoon:

So apparently Mike Birbiglia gets an email alert ever time somebody mentions him on a blog, and apparently there have been one or two mean bloggers. Which is a shame. 

Why?

Because Mike Birbiglia is one of the most talented storytellers I have ever heard. His choice of words, his timing, and his expressions are priceless. Even his request that we turn off our cell phones had the audience cracking up. And he’s funny without even trying!

I don’t think that I, or the people next to me, stopped laughing the entire time.  

As a special treat, here’s the TAL/Moth segment I mentioned earlier. Listen to it. I promise, you won’t regret it.

Enjoy!

P.S. Mike, on the off chance you’re reading this, I’m so sorry you had train woes today. Someday, the MTA will realize that people actually do use trains on Sundays. Sigh. . .