First the passing of Robin Williams, then Joan Rivers, two comedians whom I loved. I know plenty of people who did not love Joan Rivers because of her catty, usually sarcastic humor. I say she came into comedy at a time when it wasn’t easy for women, and she had to create her “brand” to rise to fame. She was bold enough to say what others only wished they could! And she seemed to always be doing her comedy on the fly, almost ad libbing at a glance. Well folks, she was far from casual or “shoot from the hip” with her jokes. In fact, her treasured gray card catalog contained 30 years of jokes, arranged quite precisely by subject!  Stand-up librarian Meredith Myers wrote a great piece about Joan and she says, “She approached comedy like a librarian. She was prepared, organized, and willing to say yes to every opportunity that came her way.”

I was even more teary-eyed  to hear this….her memory and my admiration for her only deepened when I realized that underneath the bravado, she was one of us. RIP Joan Rivers!

Read Meredith Myers full tribute at  Joan Rivers, honorary librarian

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/pe5mbdw, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0