A Dream Come True!

Ever since I was 10 ten years old, I was hooked on Saturday Night Live. It might have been my mom's fascination with the show (thank you, Gilda Radner) or the fact that it was a good excuse to stay up until 1 A.M. on a Saturday night....even as a 5th grader.

When people would ask me what I wanted to do for a living, I told them I was going to be a cast member on the show. Once I interviewed for a desk editor job at a local newspaper. The question was posed to me, "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

Now, I did consider the appropriate response, "I hope to be the managing editor of this newspaper." but my parents always taught me not to lie. It's like a commandment, right? After all, I don't want Charlie Heston giving me nightmares in my sleep. So, I told the truth:

"I believe I will be a cast member on Saturday Night Live."

I usually got laughs as a response but since laughs were like gold for me, I didn't seem to mind. (needless to say, I didn't get the job.....Thank God!)

I remember the first episode I ever saw with Mark Harmon...Suzanne Vega of "Luka" fame was the musical host. It was the 1986-87 season. There was a sketch artist skit with Kevin Nealon (along with his real hair back then) and Victoria Jackson (yes, that was when she was employed) that we taped and watched with my family over and over again. The premise of the skit was that the artist (Nealon) would draw pictures on paper with a black oil-like substance that got all over his hands. When he grabbed his subject's face to have them turn her head, he left black marks, which he promptly drew into the sketch.

Yeah, it might not sound great on paper, but in my household it was a riot. As a matter of fact, we STILL recite quotes from that show....along with numerous others.

I taped every episode of the show for almost 10 years. TONS and TONS of VHS tapes were all over my parents' house (along with the old movies my father taped.....I think the ratio of SNL tapes to his tapes were 1:320....you could have built the next Tower of Babel with all of them, which can be purchased for a serious discount....just email my mom...also expect to sit through 2 hours of photos and stories behind them)

Many of my comedic idols came from Saturday Night Live.....Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, Phil Hartman, Adam Sandler, Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Terry Sweeney (no, not really)....and I worked hard to immitate them...especially anything that Carvey did (the first George Bush, a Chinese guy, "Choppin' Broccoli" singer, Ross Perot, etc.). Back in 1996, I actually got to meet Carvey and did a 30 second exchange with him in my Perot voice.

It was one of the highlights of my life. (Well, maybe not the part where I had a yellow stream running down my leg...)

Well, another high point arrives September 20th when I get to watch a live taping of Saturday Night Live....hosted by James Franco (the dude from Spiderman) and musical guest Kings of Leon.

Get that defribrillator ready, NBC. I may have a heart attack.

This has been a wait that's crossed through THREE decades. Reagan was president, gas was under a dollar, Miami Heat was considered to be a description of the weather in South Florida and not an NBA team, Rutgers soccer was on the rise, O.J. Simpson was a well-respected former NFL player, and I had a full head of hair.

My, it's been a long time.

While I don't think I will be able to audition for Lorne Michaels in the 1 hour or so before the show and reach the ultimate goal of being ON the show, this is a close second to that.

I'm very fired up.

Some things I have been pondering for the past few days.

• A caller on ESPN radio had the perfect solution to the new GIANTS Stadium naming rights. Could there be anything better than "JetBlue Stadium"? I just wonder what that would do to baggage costs.

• USC is the #1 team in the country. Period.

• Who was the biggest winner in the North Carolina/Rutgers game? Easy. It was Michigan.

• Do you think anyone is ever going to name their kid "Ike" again? I know "Katrina" is off the list. Shouldn't "Adolf" be used at some point?

• I got a ticket for the Metallica concert in February 2009. This is not good for my already failing hearing issues.

Lastly, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (formerly Pancan) is holding the Second Annual Picnic for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network on October 5th at the Deutscher Club in Clark, NJ. The event features a face painter, luncheon, pumpkin painting, music, door prizes, and more! Tickets are $30 each if you purchase them online ($35 at the door). Donations are welcome as well. Please click on this link for more information.

My father passed away from pancreatic cancer 6+ years ago, and I am doing whatever I can to try to prevent myself and others from going through a similar fate. There is no early detection method and the survivor rate is very low.

Please help and make a difference!

Thank you.