The news of Jesse Jackson's death at the age of 84 had already hit by the time I got around to my computer on Tuesday here in Mountain Standard Time. I knew that my colleagues in conservative media would be respectful when writing about his passing, even though he wasn't a very popular guy with those of us on the right.
While it's true that Jackson was a very polarizing figure throughout much of my lifetime, the mention of his name always makes me think of one of my favorite Saturday Night Live skits, when he made a cameo appearance during "Weekend Update" and did one of the funniest bits I've ever seen on the show.
What's really weird about it is that it's a skit from an era when I rarely watched SNL, mostly because I was on the road all of the time and doing two or three shows every Saturday night. I happened to be off and saw this episode when it aired, and I still remember it vividly.
Shortly after Theodor Geisel — better known as Dr. Seuss — passed away, SNL had Jackson join Kevin Nealon on "Weekend Update" to memorialize him. In his most solemn preacher's voice, Jackson read the Seuss classic, Green Eggs and Ham. It was freaking' brilliant. The juxtaposition of the absurdist children's fare with Jackson's earnest delivery was pure magic. The rhyming made it all perfect.
It's fun to remember a time in America when we didn't have to fly into a rage over political figures we didn't like, even if we really, really didn't like them.
Yes, comedy is very subjective, and my comedian's perspective on what's funny isn't any more important than anyone else's in the grand scheme of things, or at least that's what I tell people when I'm in the mood to seem less arrogant.
That doesn't happen a lot.
What I will say is that it is very difficult to make me (or most comics) laugh out loud. This skit made me laugh out loud. If you've never seen it, I hope you enjoy it.
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