For many of us who were in high school and college in the 80’s and 90’s, Saturday’s were spent staying up late to blow-off steam watching Saturday Night Live. I realize SNL is still on TV today, but we were the lucky ones that watched live episodes with Eddie Murphy, Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, Mike Meyers and a bunch of other greats.
Whenever I need a hard laugh, my go-to thought is Eddie Murphy singing a version of a James Brown song called, “It’s Hot! In the Hot Tub!” The name of the skit was, “James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub Party.” Eddie Murphy came out from behind the curtains wearing a blue, sparkly robe with a shimmery, gold banana hammock underneath it. His lyrics are so funny even he started to lose it and smile as he dipped his toe into the water singing “It’s hot! In the hot tub! It’s wet in the hot tub! It’s too hot in the hot tub!” There is no way you can think of that scene and hold back laughter. His smile is infectious and he was hysterical!
In the 90’s at commercial time, you might remember Phil Hartman announce a segment called, “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.” But what you might not know is that Jack is a real person and the man behind the voice that read his outlandish quotes. One of my favorites: “Some people are like Slinkies, they don’t really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.” Or this little ditty: “If you go to a costume party at your boss’s house, wouldn’t you think a good costume would be to dress up like the boss’s wife? Trust me, it’s not!”
Many a night I joked with my friends that I would someday write a book about my father called, “Shop Talk by Terry Troy.” He had so many ridiculous sayings that I started keeping a journal of all the times he would say something that would have me racing to the phone to call my friends, and we’d howl repeating it over and over. Some of his quotes we still use today, and I tried to share as many as I could in my memoir All But Six.
I didn’t really know if I would ever write that book, but I’m sure glad I did. (Even though I didn’t call it Shop Talk by Terry Troy.) One of the more tame mottos my dad used was, “You only get one kick at the cat!” With my book, I had one chance to get it right. And thanks to him, I took the leap of faith and put his story in print. I hope I got it right.
Another quote he used frequently was, “You can’t teach someone who has all the answers.” He was right about that, too. Some of the smartest people never finished high school, never went to college, and never became rich and famous. I hope my father’s story inspires you to listen more to the people in your life that hold real wisdom. I’m sure glad I did.
Love,
Terrina
PS—And I’m so glad Jack Handey became a writer—he’s still inspiring me today! : )
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