Not a Memo, A Mission Statement

An Update and Re-introduction

The 1996 Cameron Crowe film Jerry Maguire begins with the metaphorical equivalent of a skydive. Jerry (played by Tom Cruise) is a high-powered agent at an elite sports management firm. After a bruising encounter with the young son of an injured player, Jerry has a midnight “come to Jesus” type realization about everything that has gone wrong and rotten with a business he loves and an epiphany about what needs to happen in order to fix it. Impulsively, Jerry sits down at his laptop, feverishly composing a mission statement (not a memo!) that he titles The Things We Think And Do Not Say. For Jerry, what it primarily amounts to is a radical new way to be a sports agent: “fewer clients” and “less money.” He’s so impassioned about what he’s just outlined that he prints it out, takes it to an all-night copy place, and has it smartly bound with a cover and everything! He distributes it to everyone in the agency. The rest of the movie is about what happens next, which is to say that not all of his colleagues (read: none of them) embraces Jerry’s homespun values or vision for an industry predicated on power and influence and obscene amounts of money. Things do not go well for Jerry Maguire until, eventually, slowly, and with quite a bit of additional humiliation and pain sprinkled in, they do.

You had me at mission statement.

What I appreciate most about this movie, besides giving us The Kwan, is the way it illustrates the cost and messy process of speaking your truth, of not only owning authentic beliefs, but also acting on them. It’s in that spirit that I want to tell you about some changes I’m making here. Also, we have some new joiners (Hello! Welcome! Yes, we have the good doughnuts!), and that seemed like a great opportunity for a re-introduction.

As some readers may recall, a few months ago I had the chance to visit a class at Marquette University in Milwaukee to talk about my first book, The League of Extraordinarily Funny Women.

Just a Writer Standing Here with a Book...

I was really energized speaking about the powerful, creative, brave, funny women throughout history who put it all on the line just to make us laugh. It was not just about revisiting that writing, which was really fun and satisfying, that lit me up, it was also that I got to talk about comedy in relation to things like race and politics and social conventions. Geeky? Totally! And the fact that I haven’t stopped thinking about it since says everything. What I’ve realized since then is that The League is more than the culmination of research and thinking and writing; it’s really a continuation of a whole belief system that is deeply meaningful to me. If I were writing my own Jerry Maguire mission statement (not a memo!) it would boil down to this: humor is life; it’s a personal and professional through line; it’s what I relate to, practice, and think about more than just about anything else; it’s what I’m drawn to and perpetually curious about; and it’s what I use to make sense of, you know, everything.

So, welcome, again, to Stay Curious, writing that explores the role humor plays in culture, art, and everyday life. Here’s what you can expect moving forward:  

• Weekly writing that delves into a range of topics related to some aspect of humor in any of its forms and contexts. You might be thinking, “Wow, that sounds like a great way to ruin funny stuff! Nopity nope!” HEARD, respectfully. But I promise it won’t be and I’ll keep it smart, accessible, and with just the right amount of weird.

Sometimes these pieces will be more in line with the “personal comedic essay,” which is inspired by the culture and history of my hometown region, New England, as well as by my occasional travel experiences.

• A fun, bonus-type feature I’m calling Lens Zen. Photography is another creative outlet for me, and I really love sharing my photo finds. I offer this section in the spirit of adding positivity, uplift, and respite from INSERT TERRIBLE ONGOING THING HERE.

I’m excited and, of course, feeling that knee pit sweat of vulnerability that comes from exposing your squishy heart in order to talk about things that matter to you. It’s always worth the risk, even if you don’t have Cameron Crowe pulling the strings to make sure it all comes out okay in the end. I hope you’ll all continue to spend time with me here. I value your time and energy; I appreciate the support.

Onward!

X-She