The Daren Streblow Comedy Show Mini-Cast 61: Illness Schmillness, Mike Goodwin & Jeff Caldwell

The Daren Streblow Comedy Show Mini-Cast 61: Illness Schmillness, Mike Goodwin & Jeff Caldwell [ 19:11 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

From the UK Daily Mail:  How a healthy husband equals a happy marriage: Couples argue more if a man is ill – but a woman’s wellbeing has no effect at all.

Scientists believe the same characteristics in wives play less of a role in limiting conflict between couples who have been together for a long time, however.

‘Wives report more conflict if their husband is in poor health.  If the wife is in poor health, there doesn’t seem to be any difference in terms of the quality of the marriage for the husband,’

Co-author Linda Waite, Lucy Flower Professor of Urban Sociology at the university, said the study’s measurement of marital conflict could be summarized as, ‘How much does your spouse bother you?’

So it appears that men need to be much more careful about sharing their mental and emotional illnesses with their wives.

Is this really fair, or is it simply based on the premise that men are wimps and women are tougher.

Well, let it never be said that the Daren Streblow Comedy Show doesn’t go the extra mile to get to the bottom of issues.  (and capitalize on it):

Is your marriage in danger due to occasional illness?  Keep that illness hidden with “Illness Schmillness:  The Big Book of Marriage Survival from The Daren Streblow Comedy Show.  In Illness Schmillness, you’ll learn marriage survival techniques such as:  exaggeration, misdirection, and reinvention.  Turn any sickness, illness or malaise into an opportunity to strengthen your relationship – like transforming a three-day bout with food poisoning into the second honeymoon of her dreams.  Save your marriage by stuffing the truth deep down inside with Illness Schmillness!

Then comedian Mike Goodwin calls into the show to talk about working out.  Mike feels like he’s fighting an uphill battle against the “fat gene”.  His brother and sister have lost that battle, but he keeps moving in order to avoid it.  Mike also enjoys basketball – not just playing or watching, but actually watching the highlights and post-game interviews.  Except when the coaches start crying.  That makes the whole experience uncomfortable for everyone.  I mean, there’s nothing more awkward than making another grown man cry, because, once one guy starts crying, you need to avoid making eye contact with him, at the risk that you may start crying yourself.  You see, most men were raised to never cry.  Mike’s dad told him that even if he were to get run over by a Mack Truck, he better not cry. So, to appease his drill sergeant of a dad, he and his brother would merely inhale at a high frequency (sans tears), with an ever present poker face whenever they were in great anguish.  With an expression that said, “My it’s a beautiful day outside”, their vocalization could be translated to, “AAAAAAHHHH, this is killing me!”

And yet, after all that, their dad would still not buy their act.  Maybe if dad would cut out all that spanking, the boys would cut out all that crying.

Mike has since learned to take his talent for masquerading sorrow for joy to the stage.  There have been nights when the crowd simply isn’t getting his jokes and he just makes “the face” and musters up “the noise” and hope they buy it.  (Sure beats watching a grown man cry)

And finally, Jeff Caldwell offers a peek behind the curtain.  The problem with comedians who write on the walls backstage is that they often do so after they perform and have little left in the creative tank.

But not Jeff, he is able to dip into his reserves that he developed in his previous life as a Civil Engineer.  Which begs the question:  How does someone move from designing sewage pump systems to stand up comedy?  So for starters, he was trained to calculate just how many gallons of water it takes to flush a young man’s dreams down the toilet.  His stint as a Civil Engineer only lasted a year, but it happened to be the year that his company bought season tickets for the Padres at the same time that the club made the post season, so it wasn’t a total loss.

But, even as a kid, he would take out his tape recorder and microphone and put it near the TV in order to record the great comedians on late night TV.  He’d break down their routines and mimic them, but it wasn’t until grad school that he learned how comedy could actually turn into a career.  All he needed was the motivation to find a way to pay off his tuition bills and found that answer at the local open mic nights.  Once he cashed a check from emceeing a night of comedy, he stopped attending classes.  (rumor has it, he still has a year of eligibility for NCAA basketball).

For more family friendly comedy, check out the Daren Streblow Comedy Show.