The Life And Death Of A Stand-Up

He believed he had the crowd in the palm of his hand, teasing them, provoking them, then hitting them with the punchline when they least expected. He heard their laughter. They were his.

But then she interrupted. She told him to stop. She told him she was offended.

Suddenly, they were lost. They hated her, but it didn't matter. She may have committed the sin in their eyes, but he was unable to respond and so he'd lost his grip on authority.

She was the awful one but he was the one they took outside and shot in the head.

The Boss Man

"The Boss Man is coming!"

The shout was uttered every morning--though later than was expected of the rest of them--tinctured with fear and disdain. They all hated the man, but there was no hope of escaping.

He was a modern day tyrant, controlling his domain as surely as Alexander controlled the Dardanelles. His employees learned quickly to fear him. Those who did not were generally shot in the head and left for dead on the sidewalk down below.

In this economy, no one dared to quit. Everyone acknowledged it was better to get executed than to risk unemployment.