Believe it or not, the description of the stand up life sounds amazingly similar to trying to have a career as an opera singer! Who knew?

Sent by Blythe Walker | 3:31 PM ET | 06-26-2008

My husband is just starting in "stand-up" (he is in a wheelchair) and just loves it. He has not played in any seedy clubs yet but has done an open mike in a laundromat-cafe. He has had a few paid gigs and we hope they'll continue! His main issue is places that don't have ramps. Sometimes he has to be carried on stage. One place he's been doesn't even have stairs (ppl are expected to jump on stage I guess). That was tricky. I'm sure there'll be more off beat stories over the years. Thanks for the segment on this.

Sent by Hannah | 5:02 PM ET | 06-26-2008

Without the risk of failure, it sure be called "Sure Thing Taking". Wouldn't that take "the thrill" out of it? Sounds like a "hollow victory".

Sent by Harold | 9:56 AM ET | 06-27-2008

What an incredible show. I'm an unknown stand-up comic, a veteran of 26 years of comedy club battles, and when I turned on the radio, I thought I heard Sarah Vowell (sp?), and stayed tuned to hear the person who was actual Esther Ku, and then Richard Lewis. I only caught part of the segment, so I'm glad I was able to hear the whole thing on line. I'm sure it's hard for the TOTN crew to come up with segment topics, and I never imagined one like this. What a pitch-perfect take on a certain side of a certain career that no one ever really gets to see.

My comedian friends and I laughed "at" and not "with" the Tom Hanks movie "Punchline" back in the 80's, because its depiction of the lives of comedians was so far off the mark. This segment, brief as it was, became the antidote to that turd of a movie.

Richard Lewis - what a perfect spokesman for the struggles of a comic, yet never bitter, so gracious with the other comedians in the conversation. A perfect choice.

I won't go into my story, it's the same thing only different from EVERYBODY who spoke on your show. I'll just say thanks for a memorable afternoon, and for an always enjoyable show.

Sent by Mike | 12:48 PM ET | 06-28-2008