Cheers for Humour

My dear friend Kathy invited me join her on Sunday for an hour of Comedy at the Blackfoot Inn. All the Comics are students of 'The Cheers Project'; a program for men and women with disabilities. The program is sponsored by the 'Calgary Foundation' and another organization I have never heard of called 'Scope'. The Program on this night was called: 'Activate Your Sense of Humour' There were twelve performers in all and this was their first time performing on stage. We especially came to see Bruce and Audrey. I met this couple a week ago when I came with Kathy to their home to pick up the tickets for this show. They travel all over the World and they especially enjoy sailing.
Bruce has a dry wit and great timing. He has MS and has been Visually impaired for several years. As he did his one-liners he was relaxed and enjoying himself. When he would forget a joke he would just call out to one of his friends to remind him. Bruce told us he really doesn't mind not being able to look at beautiful women any more. He says it's more fun in braille anyway.

This is Bruce's wife, Audrey. She has been blind all her life. She's the first comic I ever saw who read her cue cards in braille. Her guide dog took a nap while she did her act. (What a critic). Audrey told us she was born with her eye condition. She said: "I have never been able to see more than five percent...so reading at night is not a problem."

There were a hundred people in the audience cheering on the performers and we all really had a great time. It wasn't just that the Comics were able to laugh at their disabilities; it's that they were able to make some poignant remarks that helped remind us of their struggles. Pat said: "My condition makes it very dangerous if I get aroused. I never thought I would actually take medication to kill my sex life. Let's face it, I wouldn't mind getting wounded once in a while."

The performers included a schizophrenic, a few survivors of brain surgery, the visually impaired Couple I just mentioned, a man who can't remember things he just did, and even a man who can't remember things he just did.