A Night with David Sedaris

Last night I joined several members of my book club for an evening at The Majestic. Months ago, I saw that David Sedaris would be reading at Gettysburg's local theatre, and since we had read Holidays on Ice last December, it seemed logical that we seize the opportunity and purchase tickets. I sent out the invitation to the group and the following folks responded with a resounding "Count me in!": Annie, Kristin and her friend Daylyn, Siri, Lindsay, Biz, Erin, and Victoria.

(I used strange punctuation above. See that? But I never know quite what to do when I end a part of the sentence -- "Count me in!" -- with punctuation before a colon. Hence, the bizarre "...in!": as seen above.)

This was, I believe, the fourth time Biz saw David Sedaris. She and I used to work at the Book Warehouse together and his book Naked arrived in the shipment one Tuesday. That's how Biz discovered him. She's been in love ever since.

Annie and Erin ended up at my house, where we each had a glass of wine and talked about kittens. Victoria has four that need homes and Erin has a home and a need for kittens, so... That's convenient, eh? Annie and I encouraged her to get two because what's better than two kittens at one time? The answer: nothing.

When we finished our wine and our kitten talks, we headed down the street to Fourscore. Siri had gotten there early to secure an outdoor table, but the show wasn't until 8 o'clock and I guess I didn't realize that I was expected to be there by 5:30, so when I still wasn't there at 5:58PM I received a text from Biz saying, "Hannah! You coming?" Turns out, she was legitimately concerned that I'd tripped over one of my dogs and was lying unconscious in my home, possibly bleeding out from a head wound or something. That's friendship right there.

We made it to Fourscore and hung out until about 7:30 or so. Part of this was because it took a bit longer than usual to get our food, but that's because they only had two people working in the kitchen! Diane and Danielle told me that they were taking turns helping with dish washing, and Danielle was supposed to be the first one to go home, but she was still there when we left for the show! Seriously, guys: if you are in the Gettysburg area and need some extra money or whatever, apply for a job at Fourscore. The staff is so kind, the beer is so tasty, and the vibe is so chill.

I set the pace for walking into town because I have a long stride and we needed to get there on time. Biz said several times that "Missing David Sedaris would be like missing camp." I'm not sure why she likes camp so much. Like, summer camp? (If she'd been referencing Caamp, I'd understand... and now that I'm writing this, I wonder if that's how Biz was spelling camp/Caamp in her head. Oh my goodness! Her analogy now makes so much sense! YES! Missing David Sedaris would ABSOLUTELY be like missing Caamp! I just made a revelation, friends! Ha! If any of my students are reading, just know this is why spelling matters.)

Do you know that Dispatch song "Only the Wild Ones"? The opening lyrics are "Long hair and longer stride," which Kristin once told me reminds her of me because I do, in fact, have a long stride. When I walk quickly, I often listen to this song, but last night we listened to Burt Bacharach's "South American Getaway" as we booked it downtown. This is used in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and when Kristin and I watched Butch and Sundance together for the first time, she found such amusement in that particular sequence. The music has become a bit of an inside joke to us and we often listen to it while walking through towns or cities. So that's what we listened to on the way to The Majestic.

We got there with time to spare (thanks to my long stride!) and found our seats. I gave my business card to three people sitting to my left and encouraged them to check out my website before David Sedaris took the stage. He was wearing some Asian-esque flowy trousers, a standard knee-length shirt with a braided bottom, and shoes that appeared to be made from papier mache. After a brief discussion about his outfit, he commenced reading.

If you ever have the opportunity to see David Sedaris speak, you should jump at the chance. He is really funny! And inappropriate at times, too, which only makes him funnier. Rather than read things that are already published, he uses his time in front of fans to try out new essays. He actually began the night by talking about his most recent book, Happy-Go-Lucky, and telling us how sick to death he is of reading from it. So... we experienced some new material!

I have to say that I was incredibly impressed by Sedaris's ability to essentially proofread his work in front of hundreds of people, take notes/make edits at the same time, and not stumble over his words. That in and of itself is quite a feat! The fact that he also nailed the delivery of every single line only made the performance more impressive.

I'm not sure how long he read -- maybe 90 minutes? -- but when he finished, several of us got in line to have our books signed. Annie, Biz, Erin (she was apparently as tired as I was... it was a long week), and Lindsay peaced out a bit early, but Victoria, Kristin, Daylyn, Siri, and I hung back. I had a copy of Me Talk Pretty One Day in my purse, but ultimately I wanted to give David Sedaris my business card and encourage him to look at my website and check out The Way Back.

I didn't make it to the front of the line, guys.

It was so hot, and I was so tired, and I just got to the point of needing to get out of there. After waiting in line for at least an hour, I told my friends that I was going to walk home. I left my business card with Victoria and asked her to share it with David Sedaris. I guess she did; I haven't heard how long anyone waited in line to have their books signed, or what their conversations with the author were like. I do think what I'll do is make an original cut-paper card, send Sedaris a thank you note for an enjoyable evening, include my business card in that, and see what comes of it. I'll keep you posted.