Last night, 3 friends of mine and I went to the Funny Bone on the Levee, in Newport Kentucky. We were there to see Terry Fator, and we were very excited. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is the ventriloquist who won the 2007 edition of America's Got Talent. You can see him all over YouTube; here is a link to his first AGT performance.
This is a story of how a few amazing events led up to one of the most enjoyable nights I have had in a very very long time. By the end of the night, I was truly inspired. I promise to try not to bore you too much. You might want to go pee now. I'll wait.
All set? Excellent.
Believe it or not, just over 2 weeks ago I had no idea who Terry Fator was. I hadn't seen last season's America's Got Talent. I was sitting in an office, filling out some paperwork for a new contract job I was going to be starting the following week. I saw a gorgeous woman walking out, and went back to my paperwork. Then I heard her voice, and knew almost instantly who it was -- my friend Krista, whom I hadn't seen in over a year!
By the time I realized who she was, she was gone. I still had her number, so I texted her, talked to her on the phone, went to lunch with her, and we reconnected. It was as if we had never been apart. She is such a sweetheart, and I had missed her. It's a blessing to have her back in my life.
This was shaping up to be a great day! I had a new job, and I had just run into a good friend I hadn't seen in a while. During our lunch, I found out she was as big a YouTube fanatic as I. She asked me if I knew about Terry Fator, and I said no. She got me to look at him on YouTube, and I totally fell in love with him. He is amazingly funny, and incredibly talented. She told me he was going to be at the Funny Bone in Newport, and I had tickets two days later.
A couple of days later, I got a call from another friend, Jackie, whom I also hadn't heard from in over a year. I met her after work one day, and we sat and talked for a while, also reconnecting. I love her... she really is a sweetheart, and was very happy to have her back in my life as well. I mentioned that I was going to see Terry Fator, and that I had bought two tickets. I asked her if she would like to go, and she enthusiastically said yes.
Excellent! Now I had a date!
Fast forward to last night. Right after work, I hauled ass down to Newport, and sat in front of the door to the Funny Bone. I was the first in line. Krista showed up shortly after, and we sat and played Travel Scrabble until her friend Val and my friend Jackie showed up. By 7 we were in the club, sitting at the best table in the house, front and center. We were very excited.
Shortly after 8pm, Terry came on stage and immediately began his act. He was great; very funny, and an excellent singer. About halfway through the act, his dummy Walter T. Airedale started hitting on Jackie. She really enjoyed it, but she turned about 5 shades of red. Walter seemed to be quite pleased that Jackie and I were "just friends" and turned on the charm. He almost had her, too, until he started yodeling!
So, Terry continued and was winding down his show. He started clearing an area on the stage, and told Jackie that he was sorry for picking on her. To make it up to her, he said he would pick on someone else. The whole time he's telling her this, I knew what was going to happen. I looked over to see Krista crossing her fingers and muttering "please be Mike, please be Mike, please be Mike..." Terry then turned to me and said "Mike, come on up here, you're gonna help me with my next number!" Great.
Krista leapt out of her seat, squealing in joy, and moved her chair out of my way, a huge grin on her face! I won't give away the whole act, because you just have to see it to truly appreciate it. Here is a YouTube video of the act. Just picture me in the outfit. Or not... it's your scarred psyche, not mine!
After the show, Terry allowed me to go to the front of the line and take pictures with him. He gave me a copy of every piece of memorabilia he was selling: a CD, DVD, picture, and a sock puppet his sister made, and he autographed them all.
It truly was an amazing evening. But it wasn't over.
By this time, I had an amazing amount of respect for Mr. Fator. He is very funny, incredibly talented, and just an all-around nice guy. I just had no idea how nice. While waiting for Krista's friend Val (who, by the way, is a doll, and incredibly sexy) to get through the line, We had the priveledge of talking to Terry's manager, who told us a few things I don't think Terry would ever share on his own.
Terry once noticed a poor woman asking about prices to get her nails done. He pulled out his credit card and paid for an entire day of beauty for her at the salon, giving them his credit card number and telling them to add a 20% tip onto the bill. He then walked out, never telling the woman what he did.
Terry was talking to a woman after one of his shows and learned that she was having financial trouble after her father died. He promptly took all of the proceeds from the sale of his merchandise after the show, and handed it to her -- around $5000!
After our show, Terry said he'd meet us at the autograph table in a couple of minutes. He was very late, and people were wondering what was keeping him. "You know those showbiz types." He eventually came out, without a word of apology or explanation, and began signing autographs and greeting fans with a warm smile.
As it turns out, inside the club, he ran into a young handicapped man in a wheelchair being lovingly attended to by his mother. He stopped to spend a good 10 or 15 minutes with him before coming out to greet the rest of us.
I was moved. Here is this guy, adored by an exponentially growing fanbase of millions, giving back everything he can to help people around him. He is an amazing insipiration to me, and has touched my heart. I am humbled by his enormous giving nature. This is a very good man, a truly good soul. He deserves all of the success he has enjoyed so far, and will for many years to come.
Terry, I tip my hat to you, and hope that you have many many years of success in Las Vegas. You are a true inspiration, and I count myself blessed to have met you (and "performed" with you). Your closing performance is perfect -- it truly is a Wonderful World with people like you in it to inspire the rest of us to do good things. Keep up the good work!
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View Pictures from the show
Visit Terry's site at http://www.terryfator.com. Hopefully they will soon sell the sock puppets on there. His sister makes them all by hand, and they are adorable. I think the proceeds go to a good cause, but I cannot remember what it is. Terry, if I am blessed enough for you to read this, please let me know what the proceeds from your sock puppet sales go to, and I'll update my blog.
