When last we met, I shared the cryptic, terse, stilted, cheerless, eleven-word email response from comedian Gary Gulman to my complimentary, heartfelt, clever, compassionate, disquisition (it’s a real word, People) on my concerns about his mental health.
“Thank you for caring. I’ll be OK. Happy Holidays. Gary”
What does this mean…except for he is grateful, he’ll be fine and he wants me to enjoy the holidays? You know as well as I do as things are never that straightforward.
So, let’s figure this out.
Just the Facts Ma’am
Fact #1: I’m not a stalker. This is important. I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and simply don’t have the energy for that kind of crime. Let’s say I did have the energy. I’ve managed to live 59 years without a rap sheet (police record or rapidly spoken lyrics to awesome syncopation). Stalking is not on my “Bucket List.” Having a “Bucket List” is not on my “Bucket List.”

Um. I could use some help here. I got this stalker. She’s cute and soft, but she’s messing with my image.
Fact #2: Gary spoke openly and at painful lengths during his comedy show about his current struggles with depression (trouble getting out of bed, not having energy for personal grooming, self-medication via comfort food). In other words, he invited me (and the rest of the audience) into his pain. I may have been the only one who accepted his invitation seriously, though.
Fact #3: I’m a Highly Sensitive Person. I have ESR (Emotion Seeking Radar). Just think of Heat Seeking Missiles, only much kinder, less shiny, and less expensive to taxpayers; but just as accurate, fast and potentially damaging. Once deployed, there is no way to stop it (no matter what you’ve seen in Mission Impossible or Chick Flick movies).
Fact #4: Although exhaustive by no means, I scoured the Internet for any science showing that comedians suffer disproportionately from depression or bipolar disease. I didn’t find anything. Between ten and twenty percent of Americans are depressed (this varies by gender, age, geographic area, and other factors like electionsβI made that last part up, but maybe not, we’ll see). When Robin Williams died, a flurry or articles were written about comedy, depression and suicide. The consensus seems to be that comedians “think and cope differently” than the rest of us. Wow! Give those researchers another government grant.
Are you tired of facts? Good. Me, too. Let’s move on to edumacated guesses about what Gary’s message might really mean.
Edumacated Guesses
As a PhD. sociologist, I never liked the definition of a hypothesis as an “educated guess.” It’s oxymoronic.
I don’t know the meaning of Gary’s message or if Gary even wrote the message. So, I’m just spit-balling here. But, let’s give it a go anyway.
Here are my guesses on the possible meanings of his response.
- He meant what he said. Nah. Too boring.
- He’s a Jewish comedian. I’m one-quarter Jewish. I know Jewish sarcasm. “Thank you for caring. I’ll be OK. Happy Holidays.” Oy! He should have sent me some aloe vera cream for the burn. If he had been in the room, I would’ve gotten the eyeball roll and the sigh.
- He has his manager handle all his “fan mail,” and his manager is not a creative writer.
- He forgot he was responding in email, not Twitter. Come on, Gary, with spaces and punctuation, you still had at least 120 more characters of love you could’ve sent me.
- He’s intrigued. He made his response purposefully cryptic so I would email him back. His plan? A whole new act based on this weird Portland fan with the email handle “dizzylorna.” It’ll be hilarious! Only I didn’t email him back.
- His girlfriend saw the email and stood behind him and watched as he typed the email SHE dictated to him to be sure to end this “thing” between us before it even got going. You know, I have this Scorpio Vibe that I have very little control over.
- He was trying out new material on a live audience. Being the consummate professional, he dressed (or dressed down) the part of a depressed person.
Okay. I’m all out of ideas, guesses (educated and otherwise).
Do you have any theories?
Do you care?
I’m only doing this because I’m guessing you’d like to focus on something other than the weather, aging, dieting, aging, writer’s block, aging, politics, aging, or taxes. Or aging.
That’s not completely true, which is to say, that’s false. I’m doing this because I said I would. But I still want to know your edumacated guesses!

Could you stop staring at me? I’m trying to clear my head from all this talk about aging. I have my whole life a head of me. No body will get in my way. (I know this if off topic, but I couldn’t resist.)
Feb 10, 2017 @ 10:11:58
Thanks!
Feb 10, 2017 @ 09:46:59
Hilarious β€
Jan 20, 2017 @ 08:59:52
π
Jan 20, 2017 @ 08:51:37
Thanks for sharing my zany posts! π
Jan 20, 2017 @ 08:51:09
Yes, maybe he was just trying to get through his emails as efficiently as possible before his ice cream melted!
Jan 20, 2017 @ 08:48:37
I like that one, too…although I’m an introvert and I seem to have plenty to say. What’s up with that?
Jan 20, 2017 @ 07:42:59
I’m going with introvert who didn’t know what to say.
Jan 20, 2017 @ 02:27:15
The mind is a mysterious place. I’m not sure what he was thinking or if he was thinking when he wrote you. @v@ β€
Jan 20, 2017 @ 02:22:01
Reblogged this on The Owl Lady.
Jan 19, 2017 @ 13:58:14
Like an armchair QB. LOL
Jan 19, 2017 @ 12:41:37
Yes, and you’re very good at it!
Jan 19, 2017 @ 12:39:53
Yup, like me, just guessing! Thanks, Gerry! β€
Jan 19, 2017 @ 12:38:39
Yeah. He’s great at reminding me to find balance!
Jan 19, 2017 @ 06:06:12
Fozzie β€ β€ β€
Jan 19, 2017 @ 01:14:38
I think maybe he was seeking some sort of reaction, and expecting none and dumbstruck when he got a response. But I say was this the proper place to say all these things. It does seem strange to open up in public, but I guess it must have taken a great inner strength to do so..Just guessing!
Jan 18, 2017 @ 17:50:09
LOL. You should know by now that I love to psychoanalyze, so this is my kind of topic. π
Jan 18, 2017 @ 17:43:40
There’s probably some relationship…wait…I’m sensing something…something from beyond…beyond my chair. It’s Fozzie! He wants me to get off my butt and play with him! π
Jan 18, 2017 @ 17:41:24
I have strange and wonderful powers, C. Sometimes I amaze myself! π
Jan 18, 2017 @ 17:38:45
I’ll never know…but I’ve spent way too much energy on this already! π
Jan 18, 2017 @ 17:37:55
Very impressive, Lori. Yes, I’d say I’m an empath and that maybe Gary is an introvert and probably highly sensitive. I also believe me did send the email himself. I’d also say you should have your own talk show or something! π
Jan 18, 2017 @ 17:27:07
Okay, as long as we’re using numbers, let me try. 1) It turns out that Robin Williams didn’t have depression. He had Lewy Body Disease. The very name sounds creepy, and it’s wayyy worse than creepy. You may already have heard of it, but in case you need to google, simply put, it’s an extremely slow and torturous way of going insane with dementia. 2) Sounds like you are an empath. I’m an empath, too We pick up on other people’s emotions. If someone displays depression, such as Gary G., we can feel it too. Your instincts are probably right about him. 3) Gary G. really DID send those 11 words to you. 4) Gary G. might not want to discuss his problems seriously with a stranger, even if their email was light and quirky. 5) Gary G. may be an introvert. Some people who get on stage are actually introverts and don’t know how to socialize. When they are on stage, they do not have to interact. I’m just sayin’ . . . only some. 6) Maybe Gary G. didn’t think too deeply about the letter other than it was cute that you cared in your own quirky way. 7) Maybe Gary G. didn’t know what to say, but did want to respond, so he made it short and sweet.
There ya go. You asked, so those are my hypoth . . . edumacated guesses. π
Jan 18, 2017 @ 17:23:07
He may never have seen the e-mail if his manager intercepted it. Oh well.
Jan 18, 2017 @ 15:41:36
Where do you get those odd images?! Or do they just gravitate to you…? π
Jan 18, 2017 @ 15:09:36
ESR? Good one. Any relationship to ESP? I think you’re on to sumthink here. Big hugs and lotsa β€ to you my friend. Pethel