A woman named Della

Boy, have I got a story to share with you....I am a single woman living in the always fun town of New Hope. I stay by myself for a reason. You see, some years ago I was hurt in a tragic logging accident, as I was a lumber woman in the Canadian forests. I shouldn't have to share the details, as I am sure you can all guess what happened. I have been living as a paralyzed, from the waist down woman and I have not revealed this to any of my friends. I still get calls, mostly from Ruth, about different things and places we should go to. I keep refusing as Ruth would learn my tragic secret. Well, long story short, Ruth had had enough and called and told me she would be over in fifteen minutes to take me for a night on the town. Now what was I going to do? Quickly, I pulled myself over to the closet and opened the door. There in the corner were two broken broomstick handles. I had an idea. I grabbed a small saw, and cut the sticks down to size. Then, I placed one stick down each side of my pants and I was ready to go with my charade. I grabbed a hold of the chair, and with the sticks acting as my new walkers, I stood to my feet. What do you know? It worked. I was able to walk around as if I had never had an accident...Suddenly, the doorbell rang. It was Ruth. I opened it and let her in. "Just let me grab my coat" I said as I walked away. Stupid Ruth suspected nothing. We went into the hallway and Ruth reached for the elevator button. "I'd prefer to walk" I said knowing that it was 17 floors. This would fool Ruth even more. It turns out that Ruth had tickets to a comedy show. We made it to the show and watched a few hack comics try to get thru their act. Suddenly, a very good looking guy came out on stage and went on with his routine. Why, I recognized this guy. He was the Lowry Mailman, Joe Tanner! I have heard him a zillion times on the listener segment on KQ. I even saw a tape of him as he opened for Louie Anderson last year on New Year's Eve at the Northrop. I gushed like a young school girl as he asked me to come on stage and be a part in one of his bits. I went along with it and got a very warm applause from the crowd. The minutes then flew like seconds and before we knew it, Joe was done. We all rose to our feet to give him a thunderous ovation. All of a sudden, I realized sometime during the evening, I had taken out my broomsticks. Wait. I was standing on my own two feet and clapping and dancing just like everyone else! Why, Joe Tanner isn't just a funny guy, he also appears to be some sort of healer. Almost Pope-like. Hmmm. Stretch was wrong too. Joe's jokes aren't stale and recycled. They are fresh and full of life like my legs. I can only hope, as I stand here, that when you see Mr. Louie Anderson, you tell him that not only is Joe a comic worth seeing, but also an incredible and talented person in other ways too. God bless Mr. Anderson for seeing the talent in this young man. I hope we get to see some more of Joe on New Years at the Northrop....


Dancing the night away in New Hope....
Dancing Della