For about 6 months, from the fall of 2005 to the spring of 2006, I had whooping cough. I was living all alone in my parents' house while they were on their mission and most days I was too weak to get up out of bed, let alone go outside. There were days when I got so lonely that I would sit looking out the window for hours, hoping that someone would walk by the house so that I could be sure that human beings still existed.But fortunately I had two reliable caregivers who worked in shifts everyday to keep up my morale. The daytime shift was taken by Buffy Summers, who courtesy appeared courtesy of my friend Maren, who loaned me the Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVD sets. It was the first time I had ever met Buffy, and on the days when I felt too crappy to get up and around, Buffy and the Scoobies would come and hang out with me for hours on end.
The arrival of night was usually accompanied by coughing fits that could go on for hours, making it impossible to sleep. Fortunately my nighttime caregiver always arrived promptly at 11:35 to stay up with me, in the person of Conan O'Brien. His visits were always great - every time he came over he wore a nice suit, told me a lot of dumb jokes with a whole lot hilarious shtick in between, and generally kept me happy and entertained while I coughed my brains out. I had been a big Conan fan for years before I got whooping cough, but his devoted care and attention during that time really strengthened our relationship.
It may sound odd to refer to Buffy and Conan as though they were close, personal friends, but they really cheered me up and made me feel less lonely during a really crappy period of my life. Conan was a perfect friend - just like me he is a huge spaz who can't sit still, and has a bizarro, Pythonesque sense of humor (plus, back then we had the exact same hair). A Harvard graduate and a former Simpsons writer, his humor can be extremely smart and sophisticated, or it can be downright silly and stupid - either way he completely cracks me up. The era of the "Walker Texas Ranger Lever" perfectly illustrates everything I love about his random, off-kilter sensibility:
Conan O'Brien and Walker Texas Ranger
So Conan, as you graduate to the big leagues tonight, I wish you the best of luck. If I were writing in your yearbook, I would whip out all the classics: Have a great summer! Stay cool! Don't change! And of course, Let's hang out!
P.S. I'm really stoked to see Andy again, too. Tell him "hi" for me, Conan.
4 comments:
I am glad you found solace in T.V. A very worthy tribute to Conan. I am wishing him the best tonight too. Unfortunately it is after my bedtime you will have to let me know how it goes.
I'm with you - I totally love Conan! The Walker Texas Ranger bits were my favorites.
I just feel terrible reading about this depressing time in your life, knowing that I was around but I failed to check in with you enough! Sorry you had to suffer alone (well, with your TV friends). I am glad that you're through that and on to real friends--plus you get to keep Conan as a big time friend. We're enjoying him as our new friend.
I think that Buffy and the Scoobies are perfect companions for times when you're ill! And Elizabeth and I use to watch the Conan/Walker segments over and over and crack up!! Ah, Conan.
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