Born To Be...

Wild? No, not exactly. Nope, I was born to be a smart aleck. When I was 2-years old, I impersonated the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, and George Carlin. Allright, so I wasn't that far along yet, but I started enjoying their comedy at a rather young age.

But, there's one incident that really stands out for me. I was 10-years old, in fourth grade, and we (the students) had just come in from our daily recess. We were rather noisy that day, so, the teacher said in a loud, stern voice, "No talking! Shhh!" She said this a few times before she finally belted out, "No talking! What part of NO don't you understand?" Without even thinking about it, I rose my hand with this grin from cheek to cheek. She called on me and I said, "I don't understand the O." She gave me this look like, "You little punk," but didn't say anything. That was my coming out party for being a smart aleck. From that point on, no matter where it's been: at school, at the doctor's, in church, on the street, at home, at my grandparents', my sarcasm is known, expected, and surprisingly (for the most part), people enjoy it. If someone in my family doesn't like it, they can't do anything but look in the mirror and shake their heads, because who do they think I got it from? Seinfeld, Raymond, and Carlin? They helped the cause, but the base and foundation of my sarcasm comes from my family. You should see us all around the holidays. It's one big smart aleck party. Pass the alcohol around and it makes for some good laughs.