Howie Mandel & Mustang night

As a cancer patient I NEED to laugh and unfortunately there never seems to be enough of the deep, laugh-til-you-cry laughter that is so healing. I tried to get tickets to Russell Peters but that sold out basically without any advertising! I could have bought a single ticket, but what fun is a comedy show without a friend to laugh with? Plus, I saw the “extra charges” for the Russell Peters show and was shocked at how high they were. I checked tickets for Howie Mandel after and the charges were nowhere near as exorbitant as Russell Peters’ show. I’d like to know why the charges are different for every act?! Makes no sense to me, but because of the price difference and the fact that I could get third row seats for Howie, I chose Howie! I’ve listened to Howie Mandel for years. I loved “Bobby” (wish he’d done MORE Bobby!!), the surgical glove over the head, and have always thought it would be great to see him live. I hadn’t heard his “helium balloon” voice before (brilliant!) until the show last night  ( Oct 19, 2009) at TCU Place here in Saskatoon.

It seemed like the entire show was Howie just basically winging it and being himself. Too bad the people who responded to his audience questions seemed to be on the slow side (except for the doctor who eventually answered Howie’s questions) and it didn’t make people of our city look particularly intelligent. I suppose that’s the point though right? As a comedian you get a banter going with your audience, you make fun of them and get some laughs. And, every night is totally DIFFERENT! You never know what anyone is going to say and therefore as an audience we see just how quick he is on his feet.

 I couldn’t help but wonder if these few dates were timed only to promote the new book that he has coming out. He took the opportunity to tell us he has a book coming out in November. Why else would he come and do these dates (our show wasn’t even close to a sell-out) if he was just playing in Las Vegas? He was likely playing to a full house in Vegas but I bet it was cheaper to buy a ticket to see him here

The thing I appreciate about Howie is that he isn’t afraid to admit he has some problems, the major one being that he is a germophobe. How does someone like that TRAVEL? As a cancer patient who has carried hand sanitizer with me everywhere I go for the last 9 years I wonder how in the world does he even get the gumption to get on a plane?! Maybe he  has a private jet that is sanitized to his explicit directions. I wonder what his ryder looks like for his backstage/show requirements?!

I think Howie Mandel may have some kind of connection to/with breast cancer. We contacted TCU Place and asked if we could come and sell tickets on the Novakoski Mustang. I didn’t realize until later that they have to then contact the tour manager and get permission. Word came back and it was YES! TCU Place was so helpful and set up a table for me inside so I would be comfortable. If I’m out in the cold my back will be sore for a week because of the cancer in my bones, so I was incredibly grateful that I would be able to be inside selling tickets. My friend Jeanine and I sold tickets as people were coming in and everyone was so generous and in a good mood…after all, we were getting ready to laugh so there was no shortage of joking around! So many wonderful and nice people from all over…as far as Lloydminster, Ontario and Regina (if you were at the show you KNOW there were people from Regina there!).  We sold over 500 dollars in tickets in less than an hour, and all that money will go directly to breast cancer research in Saskatchewan. And, of course someone from last night could win the Mustang when we give it away on Friday!

So, the reason I’m thinking that perhaps Howie Mandel has a connection to, or is a supporter of breast cancer research is that HE WAS WEARING A PINK WRISTBAND! It was one of the first things I noticed. He had a metal bracelet on his right wrist, the pink wristband on his left and 2 rings on his left hand (wedding ring & one on his thumb). I remember this crazy stuff because I spent so much time staring at the pink wristband to make sure that it was indeed pink!

Howie was just what I needed. Living with metastatic breast cancer is not a cake walk and I often realize that I REALLY need a good laugh. I got lots on Monday night with Howie. Thanks Howie for the laughs and thanks especially for letting us sell tickets on a car to raise money for breast cancer research.