It was late last night and I was laboring over this very email, trying to write about Shalom Aleichem’s Tevye stories and how they manage to be so damn funny in a way that doesn’t make light of anyone or their tragedies. That Aleichem pulls this off is hardly a novel observation, but I think I might say a little bit about how he does it…
…then I started losing consciousness, and now it’s the morning, my kids are watching Peppa Pig, and we need a new plan.
So, let’s use this space to pay tribute to a very different kind of hilarious writer, one who (check this transition) himself writes frequently about consciousness: Bystander Ed Subitzky.
For now, I’ll skip the lengthy and impressive CV—National Lampoon, the Radio Hour, Late Night with David Letterman, to name just a few highlights. In interviews, Ed has said he studied mathematics as a student, and I see a formal, structural strain in his humor. But he combines that with straight-for-the-jugular directness that marks so much of Lampoon’s funniest work. Subitzky satisfies both heart and mind, his humor is the whole meal.
For today’s dip into Bystander’s archives (which I insist on calling Archival Load) we’re going to reshare two of my favorite pieces of Ed’s, from Issues 7 and 8. The first is “Young George Washington,” and it starts like this:
“Father, I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree.”
“Also, I’m the one who set the puppies and the kittens on fire.”
“Also, I copped a feel from Aunt Esmeralda while she was pouring tea.”
“Also…”
