Friday, September 5, 2014

She made me laugh till my face hurt

The year was 1970 something when I first heard her. I liked her style so much, I went to Peaches Record store where they displayed record albums in peach crates, and I bought her Live and In Concert 33 1/3 RPM . I played it for my best friend, Rose, on our record player when our husbands were at work and our kids were at school.

Sassy women were not accepted so easily then, especially when the feminist movement was erupting and women were finding their voice and men were still suppressing them. Rose and I could relate because we knew when the arm dropped on that record player and the needle landed in the first groove, she'd speak her mind. She said what we were thinking and could not say to anyone but each other.

My mom and I were at the airport one day when she came through. I nudged my mother and said, "Oh look, that must be an impersonator. This gal is too tiny."

She was under five feet tall, probably weighed 85 pounds and she had her pert nose in the air. She looked back at one of her Yorkies trailing behind and gently tugged the leash of the one in front, until they were all walking together, taking up half the width of the concourse.

"OMG, Mom! That's really her!"

Yes, it was Joan Rivers arriving off an international flight, and I was thirty feet from her, and completely speechless.

Her humor was crass and biting and sometimes mean spirited, but Rose and I could sure nod in agreement at her "men are such..." jokes.

Thanks, Joanie for the laughs at a time when I really needed to laugh.

7 comments:

Connie said...

She definitely broke ground with her style and sass. She will be long remembered.

Bookie said...

Interesting that you caught real glimpse of Ms. Rivers....so many people pass us on a daily basis...I wonder who and what we do miss.

Kathy's Klothesline said...

She was one of a kind, an original!

Val said...

She was a trailblazer. Sorry to see her go.

Sioux Roslawski said...

She, like Phyllis Diller, paved the way for lots of funny women.

Tammy said...

Nice tribute. She was truly a force on this earth.

Merlesworld said...

She was one funny lady.
Merle............