Welcome to another chapter of Grateful Heart Monday where every week begins with me expressing a piece of gratitude from my life, which for today is getting to see a very funny Wayne Brady at the Motor City Casino Sound Stage in Detroit, Michigan about a week ago now.
The first time I ever saw Wayne Brady was on television in a show called “Whose Line Is It Anyway” and boy did he make me laugh from the onset. His quick off the cuff and totally random sense of humor that always seems to involve his pretty amazing singing voice and some seriously good dancing skills truly makes for a unique and quite hilarious style of comedy that’s straight up my alley.
The first time I ever saw him perform live was back in Washington D.C. in the early 2000’s at the Kennedy Center and man, his style of comedy was even better in person. So, when I saw he was coming to Detroit’s Motor City Casino in mid-August this year, I made sure to let my sister and my partner know that tickets to it would make a great birthday present when they asked what I wanted for it back in early May.
The truth is, I really needed to see this show because I haven’t been laughing much at all these days. With several tragic losses of close friends and the ongoing saga of health and family issues, I rarely seem to feel any desire to laugh, let alone even smile anymore. But, if anyone was going to make me laugh, it would be Wayne Brady. And that he did. In fact, I laughed so hard during his show that my facial and jaw muscles hurt by the end of it.
They say that laughter is good for the soul and beneficial for healing the mind and body. I’ve even read of stories where people healed themselves of various ailments, including cancer, by watching comedy movies and television shows day in and day out. Thankfully, I can say that Wayne Brady definitely helped me on that path, as I felt a whole heck of a lot better after his performance. Some of that may also be because he actually called on me in the audience at one point and asked what I did for a living. I told him I was in the recovery from alcohol and drug addiction field (which is indeed the only work I’m doing these days), at which point he asked the room to give a round of applause, which frankly felt really good in the moment given how draining recovery has been with so many deaths as of late.
So, yes, I’m extremely grateful for getting to see Wayne Brady in another live performance. The man is definitely most gifted and God has surely blessed him with a talent that seems to make just about any type of audience laugh incredibly, including one that even had a downtrodden me among its midst, which is something I know I truly needed the other day, probably more than any of you may ever know.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
