(Sunday Paper, Year IV, Issue 29)

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from my friend Justin…whose last guest post came when he was about a month into being a new dad.

(His daughter was born on my birthday. I have since softened my stance on sharing my birthday. We’re going to work it out, me and her.)

(Well, her 21st birthday will be a problem, because that will also be my big 60th birthday, and I want her dad at my party. Which might end up working out because when she’s 21 she’s not going to want him at her party. Crisis averted.)

I always enjoy Justin’s writing - I hope you will too.

Last Sunday was a beautiful day. We, like so many others in the north Jersey suburbs, decided to spend the day at the Turtle Back Zoo, a surprisingly excellent zoo in West Orange. We saw some lions, fed some giraffes, petted some goats and then ate some cheeseburgers. And when that was all done, we ran into the only bad part of Turtle Back Zoo. There's only one elevator in the parking structure. So, at around 1:45 Sunday afternoon, there is a stroller traffic jam waiting to get back to the cars.

It's there that our story begins. Your mind starts to wander as you stand, in the heat, waiting for a wall of humanity to slowly move in front of you. I glanced at the family in front of me. A man and wife and their two sons in a double stroller. They happened to be Asian. My initial thought was, "I wonder what's up with Henry these days." Henry was one of my best friends in grammar school. He and his family moved to China when we were in 6th grade, and though they moved back to New Jersey a few years later, we were never really close again. We saw each other from time to time, usually through mutual friends. In fact, the last time we hung out was probably 15 years ago, at a friend’s wedding. After that weekend, we promised to keep in touch but, as is always the case, we did not.

Anyway, I had that thought, then I immediately had a second thought. Am I being racist? I see an Asian guy and my first thought is about this other Asian guy I once knew. But, is it racist if it jogs pleasant memories? And am I being overly sensitive in an effort to retrain my thinking amid the current political climate? Am I putting too much pressure on myself to be "woke?" See, this is what seperates us from the animals. The giraffe saw the lettuce and ate the lettuce. That's it. Meanwhile, I'm falling down a shame spiral of my own making, stressing about a stray thought which was never even expressed out loud.

What finally snapped me out of it was someone saying my name. Because, of course, the guy in front of me actually WAS Henry and he recognized me and said hi and we hugged and it turns out, after all these years, we live about five minutes from each other in neighboring towns.

Comedy

*I'm checking Exhibit A's website and I don't see any John Sucich related comedy events on the schedule, but keep checking back. I'm sure there's more to come and it will be an excellent way to spend your Saturday evening. [Note from John: Since Justin wrote this the event is on both Exhibit ‘A’’s website and Facebook…the next show is August 10 and tickets are available here.]

In the meantime, check out Gary Gulman. He's my latest favorite comedian. He's been around for years and years and years, but seems to be having his moment right now. In fact, he has an HBO special coming soon. Judd Apatow is involved somehow (producing or directing, I can't remember right now.) While you wait for that, google his bits about trader joes and about the states' abbreviations. Both are amazing. [Note from John: Gary has also been tweeting a comedy tip a day since the beginning of the year and it’s always entertaining and enlightening. I referenced it in this Sunday Paper’s ‘What I’ve Been Enjoying’…and included a couple of gushy Notes about him too.]

Writing

*This is the only writing I've done in a long time. I used to do a lot more. But work days are long and I have a two year old and a wife and a house and the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon...

What I’ve Been Enjoying

*I just started reading the book, Becoming Dr Seuss, by Brian Jay Jones. I'm not very far into it yet but so far its pretty enjoyable. I CAN recommend two previous biographies by the same author- one about Jim Henson and one about George Lucas. Both of those books are fantastic.

Otherwise, get a two year old daughter. They're fun.

A Few Thoughts About Dog Ownership

*I'm not a dog guy. I've never had a dog. I've never wanted a dog. I don't personally see the appeal. That being said, John texted the first picture of Tate and I said, out loud to no one in particular, "Oh (expletive deleted,) that's a really cute dog."