During my lengthy tenure as a joke writer for the Tonight Show, I suggested to the host Jay Leno that he take a few days off and visit Yosemite National Park. "I would rather watch a video of a tree," he replied. I on the other hand craved greenery and felt that our new office complex on the Burbank studio lot was a production prison, devoid of life affirming elements.
After going through what I dubbed as "Lenopause", a permanent cessation of late night comedy employment (which Jay may be going through himself right now), I found myself on a wacky global sojourn that exposed my senses to the venerable ways of the very green third world.
In my new book An Out Of Buddy Experience I accidentally prevent a rebel bombing in Thailand that would have slaughtered a parade of native children. When I am informed that I am the target of a contingent of insurgent Buddhist monk assassins, my fugitive itinerary leads me to climbing Mt. Everest in Tibet, and fighting to survive a perilous midnight plunge in a raging river waterfall in the heart of the Laos jungle. As I cling to a protruding river rock, I contemplate my certain death. My mind plays roulette with my past, delivering a candid chronicle of behind-the-scenes show business celebrity shenanigans, along with a travelogue of international intrigue.
This flashbacked excursion includes China, Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba, the four remaining socialist republics still endorsing communism. The "Moped Diaries" chronicle, a 35 mph romp around Castro's island, makes it clear that the rumored evil doers of these communist regions are not the soulful citizens who opened their modest homes, shared their meager provisions, and offered me free salsa lessons. The culprits are the corrupt leaders like those in corporate America who would have us believe that these places are more like terror-tories than friendly territories for their own manipulative purposes.
In the middle of Havana Park was a life size bronze of John Lennon sitting on a bench. The statue was unveiled to a live rendition of "All you need is love," and the inscription says "dirías que soy un soñador pero no soy el único" which is the Spanish translation for Lennon's Imagine lyric; "you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Woven into the fabric of my impending demise are personal anecdotes regarding homelessness, love, religion, prostitution, politics, and sex:
"The circumstances became too erotic to dissect, and much too intriguing to resist. If this was their method of making me forget the knot in my shoulder, it was working... The new gal quickly disrobed and joined our fete. Although our chemistry for the next hour was powerful, it was our geometry I will never forget."
Witness my comical frustration as I try everything from hypnotism to telepathy in my attempt to inspire rescue activity from the young, beautiful Laotian woman who stood frozen on the riverbanks like a primitive painting, appearing to simply see me off on my journey to the afterlife.
Saturated with zany tales that find me hobnobbing with a goofy costumed Steve Jobs, or snorting blow with a Beatle backstage at the "Last Waltz" in a white room decorated with plastic noses all over the walls, An Out Of Buddy Experience lifts the veil, acquainting you with the eccentricities of superstars and aborigines as if they were your true Facebook friends. The seasoned travelers will find their own geographical memories stimulated, and those that haven't ventured far will delight in the explicit odyssey narrative. Although An Out Of Buddy Experience is not a "tell all " book, there are many unabridged stories about politicians, rock stars, and movie personalities from Keith Richards to Robin Williams.
As we watch the world wobble under the weight of sociopolitical malaise, An Out Of Buddy Experience sheds comedic light on the balance we can find in connecting our hearts to the unifying theme we call humanness. Or as former Tonight Show announcer Edd Hall says about the book: "This certainly goes above and beyond the scope of a comedy writer... HOLY CRAP!"