Josh Blue

In a massive push for toast eating, David and I went on a date last night. I planned it as a surprise for him, so he had no idea what we were doing, where we were going, what to wear, etc. All he knew is that we showed up at our local art gallery and sat in the front row facing an empty stage with a mic – it had to be stand up. And it was! I took him to see sold-out Josh Blue, 2006 winner of Last Comic Standing and current contestant on America’s Got Talent.

Josh was hilarious! He is impeccable in his timing, expression, and a master at handling hecklers and weird stuff thrown at him. In our small, Mayberry-like mountain community, we had the WEIRDEST heckler, clearly a drunk super fan, painted in blue body glitter, flashing her boob at one point. W.T.H.

The Obstacle Is the Way AND The Gift

If ever there were a person that embodies the concepts of the obstacle being the way and the obstacle being the gift, it is Josh Blue. He has spastic hemeplegic cerebral palsy and bases a lot of his jokes on not only his own life living with this disability, but also how others view him. His aim is to “make people aware of the fact that people with disabilities can make an impact.”

For example…

He coined the term “palsy punch”, saying it is effective in a fight because “first of all, they don’t know where the punch is coming from, and second of all, neither do I.” Blue also joked that signing an autograph takes 45 minutes and that to write down the phone number he has to find a “big ol’ stack of paper.”

He is on a mission to educate others about cerebral palsy and has found that laughter is the best way to humanize it. “I feel like everybody can relate to me as a result of everyone has some hang up in their life, and I get nice responses from people who have palsy and people who don’t,” he said.

Amen, Josh Blue! Amen! You are a huge inspiration for everyone to go live their very best lives and find and develop their own unique gifts. Because we all have them! Every single person has value and something to share with the world. Your gifts are tremendous and your humor infectious!

Broccoli

Josh wears a broccoli t-shirt on stage in honor of his show titled Broccoli. These shirts are hand appliquéd by his sister – see them here. On our way out last night we picked up a shirt and a DVD copy of the show…and now we are SO curious to know the meaning behind the title. I’m guessing it is a reference to cannabis but we can’t find the meaning online anywhere so we will have to watch the show to see. Maybe I’ll come back to post, or maybe I wont. Maybe it is a secret that you will have to uncover for yourself, too.

Josh Blue tours a LOT so if you see that he is coming your way, go see him! Dig into his website! Have a laugh! Learn something about cerebral palsy and embrace a new flavor of humility and appreciation for life. As he says, we all have hang ups in our lives. It’s how we respond and what we do with them that matters.

If you have landed on this page from an external link, please go HERE to read from the beginning. Otherwise, click on the next title below to continue.