Tragedy is Good Comedy

A Funny Story

The comedy of Joe Strange the Clown of Mystery Café

This is the event that I believe really got me into comedy. I could make people laugh at my misfortune.

I am going way back to when I was 20 years old. I started telling this story of what happened to me and everyone laughed. To set this story up there was a time in my life when I was in a car accident every 6 months. Some like this one was my fault, others were not.

I am driving down a wet road. I notice the person ahead of me apply her brakes because the person in front of her wants to turn. So I apply my brakes but it doesn't do me any good. I slid into her and she then slides into the turning person. I look up at her and she is just a thrashing all over in the front seat of her car. I'm thinking "Oh no, I've really hurt this lady!" So I jump out of my car and go running up to her car saying "are you all right?" She yells at me, "My wig, my wig, my wig, what happened to my wig!"

Apparently she had been wearing a wig and the impact had sent the wig flying off her head and into her back seat. She wasn't hurt at all except maybe her pride.

Eventually with experience and the determination of this 6 month accident thing needing to end I stopped having them. Much to the delight of my parents who were paying my insurance bill.

Then again maybe I stopped having accidents when I had to start paying the bill.

Strange Joe the clown Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus program picture , 1985