Ladies and gentlemen, I have the next three days off of work. Yes, that’s right. I put in for vacation days and don’t have to report to the dining room table to watch sitcoms all day and write social media for them. Yes, I realize that in the world of jobs this is a cushy one, but work is work!
My friend Patty is in town visiting and I took time off to hang out with her. But today she took her daughter and her daughter’s friends to Knott’s Berry Farm (a theme park) and I was like, “Errr, I think I’ll pass on that.” Roller coasters aren't my thing. They used to be, but my body’s a wimp now that I’m older. I mean, I threw my back out while READING a couple of weeks ago, for God’s sake.
Anyway, I’ve known Patty for almost 30 years. We go back all the way to 1998 and met in Chicago while working on The Jenny Jones Show. If you’re new to me (meaning you subscribe to this Substack because of Jen and are like, Who the hell is this Karyn girl?), I started my illustrious career working in the glamorous world of daytime talk shows.
The Jenny Jones Show was the first real job I had out of college. I worked there for three years, from 1997 to 2000 before moving to New York. I was the audience producer, which I briefly discussed in my book Save Karyn. I stood on the side of the stage for approximately 600 shows. I cued people to clap. I’d look for people falling asleep and motion to their neighbors to wake them up. I’d also go out during commercial breaks to field questions for Jenny and help people rephrase them to sound better. For example, if someone wanted to ask a mother on stage, “Why are you letting your daughter dress like a ho?,” I’d tell them they can’t call a teenager a “ho” and suggest another word for them to use instead, like “streetwalker.”
JENNY JONES WAS A HIGH-CLASS SHOW.
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