John Cheese

 We did not take advantage of the fine swimming area, although I offered to use the crane to escort mom into the hot tub.

 

Good morning from Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, home of fine establishments such as the Econolodge Inn and Suites, Renegades—Fitness, Family, and Food(?), and the Texas Roadhouse.

Even though I’d love to spend some time bashing the worst steak restaurant in the north, from the south, there are many more fun and entertaining things to type about, and my last post was a bit of a downer, so I will keep this one light. Texas Roadhouse was garbage!

Let me tell you a little, first, about me and my love for comedy. I’m really young, like in my 30’s, but my taste for the humor and fun in life began back in the 1900’s with shows like S.C.T.V. and Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and Fawlty Towers. Now, some of you may already know this, but John Cleese was a main actor in the two latter programs, and my inspiration as an aspiring comedian at an impressionable young age. To say it lightly, he’s a bit of a legend, a hero, and maybe an idol in my book of things, and I had been looking forward to this show for quite some time.

I thought it would be a good idea to bring mum along for her birthday present because she was the one who introduced me to British humor back in the 20^th century.



 

Before we went to the show, however, we decided to take a tour of the city by roundabout way, and have a look at Lambeau Field, home of the failed 2016-17 Green Bay Packers. I had always wanted to check it out because they are our biggest rivals, and it’s nice to see where their weaknesses come from. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any insider information. We were greeted by a man in a yellow reflective vest and I asked if we could take a spin around the building and take a few pictures. He said yes. In fact, I’m not sure if he had the authority to say no, but we followed the obvious circumference of the building, and got these shots.

 

 



Here’s what I noticed. Unlike the spaceship we have as a monstrous obscenity in the middle of our city, Lambeau field seemed unobtrusive, and part of the surrounding neighborhood. I didn’t feel threatened by the simple design, and there was a parking lot that surrounded the stadium. It seemed quite user friendly.

On to it then: We arrived at the UofW Green Bay, and wound our way through to the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts. I’m not good at describing buildings because I don’t know any terminology, so I will state that I believe it was made from bricks. We went in and had this picture taken in front of the poster, and toured the four-floors, but were not allowed a sneak-peek at the theater.

 This area was called a resting room. It was like a bathroom with a bed instead of a toilet. I would like to see more of these in places around town, especially at work.

 

Although hard to read, the sign on the door says HOUSEKEEPING. I found it to be quite sexist right under the WOMEN sign.



 

Finally, the doors opened, and we were let in. It was a beautiful theater, reminiscent of Orchestra Hall back home, but not as blue. We were seated about half-way back on the lower level, and were shown a screen with Holy Grail trivia with clips of Flying Circus playing in the background.



Promptly at 7:30, the lights dimmed, and some man wandered on stage. He was a radio D.J. and announced the start of the show. Very quickly, we were shown the movie in its entirety. People were shouting lines out from all over the theater, and there was nearly constant laughter throughout. And immediately after the show, another radio guy came out and introduced John Cleese. He was wearing a cheese hat.



Here are some of his talking points: His grandpa changed their last name from Cheese to Cleese because he was tired of being made fun of. I would have done the same.



They were having trouble getting the money to finance the making of the film, so they turned to some famous musicians. The Holy Grail was entirely funded by Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin to the tune of 230,000 pounds back in 1974. A few years later, when looking to fund Life of Brian, they were again assisted by a rather well-known gentleman in the music business, George Harrison.

He didn’t understand why we call football, football, or why anybody would want to play it this far north.

He told the story of his first true love; writing. For the first series of Fawlty Towers, he was paid a mere 6,000 quid for 42 weeks’ worth of work. He survived off of doing commercials and would use that money to pay his way while he spent his time writing for movies.

There’s so much I just can’t cover because I can’t remember it all. One thing is for sure, as a 77 year-old man, he still had his wit, and his laughter was infectious and loud. I wasn’t close enough to see, but I’m sure he had a sparkle in his eye.

As I sit here in room 138 of the Econolodge, I remember the last time I was I was in a hotel room. It was December of 2013, and I was living room-to-room. I was a homeless and hopeless drug dealer, and I was going to get arrested that very night. I know if I were still part of that former crowd, I would never have thought to do something like this; something meaningful and fulfilling. This trip had a lot to it, and I’m grateful I had the opportunity.

Many miles later, and I'm safe and sound at home. The long drive was well worth it. I got to see a living legend, and I got to spend some time with my mom. Of course for me, it's right back into the fray in the morning, and my two days off went by quickly, but I will never forget them.