It’s our sixth wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks. For ages I’ve been maintaining it is actually our fifth anniversary. You see I officially qualified as a nurse the same week we got married and if it had been six years ago then my re-registration would have been due.
Then a letter came telling me I had to renew my registration, so six years it is. Seventy five bloody pounds it cost me to re-register. I wouldn’t mind but it’s not like I’m a proper nurse. I haven’t even given anyone an injection for around two years. I think that if I’m going to be forced to pay seventy five quid the least they can do is let me stick needles in people’s bottoms every now and again. What’s worse is that they have recently changed the rules and now I have to pay every year instead of every three. The bastards.
So, anyway, it’s coming up to our sixth wedding anniversary. I know that the traditional gift for fifth anniversaries is wood, but I’m not sure what the sixth is. I’m hoping a Apple Mac desktop computer.
As you know, Kerry and I got married in Central Park Zoo in New York. I’m going to save the story of all that until the day itself. However I do want to tell you about how we met David Letterman while we were over there.
Ok, so “met” isn’t quite the right word. Perhaps “watched from a distance of about fifty meters” would be more technically accurate. We were walking through Time Square, looking up at all the billboards and thinking how pathetic Picadilly Circus is in comparison, when we were approached by a woman with a clipboard.
“Do you want some tickets to see the David Letterman show being taped tomorrow?” She asked.
“Er yeah, alright” we answered.
“Then you just need to answer me three questions!” She told us, and proceeded to ask us three simple questions about the David Letterman show, all of which we got completely wrong (although I still maintain we were pretty close when we said that Paul Reiser was the leader of his house band). Never-the-less the woman gave us the tickets anyway. Mainly I suspect because my mother-in-law was with us at the time. She is rather a gregarious person to say the least, and the researcher probably figured that she’d make a pretty good audience member.
The show itself was ok, but nothing spectacular. Let’s not forget that I have also been in the audience of Countdown during the Richard Whitely glory days, so the glitz and glamour of showbiz is old hat to me. We did feel a little guilty about the ease of which we got our tickets though. In the queue to go in we stood next to a guy who had waited for about a year for his. If he had only known that Paul Reiser was the leader of the house band maybe he wouldn’t have had to go to such lengths.
In the theater itself the audience was almost rabid with anticipation. They were even applauding the piped muzak every time a track ended, which to us reserved Brits was just unfathomable. It placed me in quite a difficult dilemma. My natural instinct was to stare with incredulous amazement at the people around me. Yet my inner conformist started to wonder if I should be clapping too. I think I kind of settled on an occasional ironic half clap in the end.
The guests were Bonnie Hunt and N.E.R.D. At that time I hadn’t heard of either of them, although I did recognize Hunt from Jerry Maguire. I was anticipating that they would film two shows back to back and hoped I’d see someone a little more famous in the next one. But apparently they just do one show a day in order to be a topical as possible, so my hopes of seeing Bruce Willis were cruelly dashed.
As I say, the show was ok. Bonnie Hunt told a mildly amusing story about her husband wearing glasses and meeting the president, N.E.R.D. did a track from their debut album, there was some strange bit about a man in a tank of water or something, and then we were efficiently ushered back out into the cold.
It was an interesting experience, and one I certainly would repeat. If only for the fact my friend Neil used to say he would like to go, so now I can rub his face in it. It is, I’m afraid, important to me to try and outdo Neil in the celebrity meeting stakes. After all, he’s shook hands with the Chuckle Brothers and so has set the bar pretty damn high. Now if they had been Letterman’s guests I really would have got excited.
No related posts.
Six years is iron. I got my wife some nails.
Ed (zoesdad)’s last blog post..Spring is coming—I hope!
Just don’t give her a hammer, she’ll hit you in the head with it.
I’ve been to Letterman tapings a few times (used to live in NYC). Tried to convince the screener to select me for a round of “Know Your Cuts of Meat”, but to no avail.
Rattling the Kettle’s last blog post..Ignore the man behind the curtain
I’ve never seen a show of any kind taped live, I don’t think.
Wait, Iowa Public Television did an elementary quiz bowl once and I was ON it.
So, yeah, I can pretty much imagine from my show biz experience what Letterman must have been like.
Miss Britt’s last blog post..You’re Laughing With Me
I have a really long story about my wife and I trying to see a Letterman show. I need to tell it sometime. I call it “The Dog Story”.
Mr. Fabulous’s last blog post..Kyra loves me, she really loves me!
We approaching our sixth anniversary as well. It’s amazing how fast time flies.
I’ve been to a taping of Letterman. And also one of Leno. I wasn’t all that impressed myself. However, I was quite star-struck when I had the opportunity to play Caribbean Stud Poker with Jenny McCarthy at the Hard Rock casino a few years ago.
I’m hoping to go to a taping of Jeremy Kyle.
I have also been to see Countdown being recorded with Richard ‘no sense of humour about himself’ Whiteley. Mr Pops and I are extremely juvenile and spent most of the recording shaking with silent laughter as we were playing the rude word version and Mr Pops found a marvellous 5 letter word to describe for a ‘lady-garden’. We were also the youngest in the audience by about 10 million years.
I wonder if they would let me in… maybe i could try to get in on a night the do
Will it float.
Wedding in central park – cool. letterman show – cool.
Xbox4NappyRash’s last blog post..Updates & The ‘Rash Review
“The guests were Bonnie Hunt and N.E.R.D. At that time I hadn’t heard of either of them,”
I’m proud to say I still don’t.
Rol’s last blog post..I Pledge Allegiance To All But Bryan May
I love how you can only remember how long you’ve been married by whether or not you’ve got to re-register! Time flies when you’re having fun!
Bec’s last blog post..Impressive?
My partner did sneak into a Bowie rehearsing for Jools Holland a few years back. She tried to call me on a mobile so I could listen to it to. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of an epic meeting and not only managed to reject the call but somehow deleted the message.
Anyway,six years sounds like quite an impressive amount of time to be married. Maybe we’ll try it one of these days.
(un)relaxeddad’s last blog post..Dudelette observations at 14 weeks/Looking for the elf
i’ll see your letterman, and raise you with a conan, a leno and an ellen degeneres…
i do love bonny hunt though! she and dave have a great rapport. they’re both quick-witted and smarmy.
bon bon’s last blog post..but i have no mouth yet
How did you resist saying, “…ask me the questions bridge keeper, I am not afraid!”
Or don’t all British people quote Monty Python phrases every chance they get?
Jeff’s last blog post..Shower the people
Paul Reiser!! Hilarious! Wasn’t he on a show called Mad About You with Bonnie Hunt…oh no, that was Helen Hunt. You’ve got me all confused!
Ed – Oh way to go man, now I’ve got no chance of getting that desktop.
Rattling the Kettle – That sounds vaguely ponographic.
Miss Britt – Wait, I think i saw that episode of Elementary Quiz Bowl. Were you the kid with the funny looking face?
Mr Fabulous – i look forward to reading it some day.
Jason – You Caribbean stud you
Morticia – Don’t do it. Kyle is an evil man who exploits the vulnerable.
CamiKaos – I know mine does, but i do eat a lot of fiber.
Xbox4NappyRash – Yeah, it was rather.
Rol – I think N.E.R.D have become quite respected in their field.
Bec – To be fair i can only just remember the date of my own birthday.
(un)relaxed dad – I recommend it personally. As the Proclaimers said: It may just be a peice of paper, but it says that I love you.
bon bon – I should have known you’d out celeb me.
Jeff – I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. freak.,
Momo Fali – There is a pun their revolving around the word Hunt, but I choose to abstain from it.
I saw Joe Cocker coming out of Letterman’s stage door, does that count?
Whit’s last blog post..The Boots are Back in Town
I’ve been watching Letterman since 1982. My longest relationship ever!
Never seen him live. I did see a Johnny Carson taping in 1984. The guests included the Peabody Ducks from Memphis.
I know you like ducks, so you must be thrilled with yet another exciting tidbit from my upcoming memoirs.
Kyle is not an evil man who exploits the vulnerable for ratings – he’s sincere in his desire to help them move on…..honest guv.
I want to see the difference between what is aired and what happens. I’m quite fascinated by the motivation of those who appear on those not only wash but drag your dirty laundry along the ground type programmes, and also the motivation of those who watch them.
Mortica – We’ve had a couple of people refered to our service because they have become suicidal after being on Kyle. They went out of a genuine desire, however misguided, to resolve their problems.
I have a very dislike for the program and all like it. You can tell yourself you are watching it for ironic or intellectual reasons if you want. But bear baiting is still bear baiting no matter what tint your sunglasses.