A Personal Experience Regarding Jon Stewart [View All]

[mattclearing]

or, "Jon Stewart Once Bought Me a Drink, Because He Is a Stand-Up Guy"

So about two years or so ago, the girlfriend and I had tickets to see Jon Stewart in Baltimore at the Meyerhoff Concert Hall. We were looking forward to it, so when it began snowing, but the theatre said the show was still on, we decided to make the trek from DC.

So we get there, and shake the snow off, and go to our seats. And we waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, a woman walked onstage, took the microphone and addressed the crowd. She let us know that Jon's flight had been delayed, and had just recently landed at BWI, and that we would be there as soon as possible.

So we waited longer. It was about 10pm at this point.

The woman returned to the microphone with a cell phone to relay Jon's words from the limo en route. He said that he was terribly sorry for the delay, but that he hoped to be there soon, and that everyone was welcome to a drink on him.

So of course, approximately 2/3's of the audience (at least a 1000 people) cleared out to go get their complimentary drink on Jon. It was a symphony hall, so it was mainly wine, Heineken, or selected cocktails. I opted for the house red.

Sadly, after everyone got their drink, Jon and the venue agreed to postpone the performance, because the snow was ongoing, the show would go incredibly late, and the safety of all involved was an issue.

The rescheduled date was bad for us, so we actually ended up opting for the refund. Anyone who has ever attempted to get a refund from Ticketmaster can attest to the extent of the difficulty I went through to get the money back.

But the fact that Jon Stewart shelled out at least $5000 in cash to buy his fans a drink because he was late in a snowstorm says to me that he is more than just a comedian, another gifted smartass, or even a decent-to-great fake news reporter.

He is a stand-up guy who really does care about his fans, and I think that shows from the work he does on the Daily Show.

After watching him go toe-to-toe with Bill O'Reilly last night, I remembered this, reflecting about how I loved his MTV show, cringed when I heard he had the unenviable task of following in Craig Kilborn's footsteps at the Daily Show, how Craig Kilborn has been all but totally forgotten in his wake, and his phenomenal single-handed takedown of Crossfire, one of the most irritating shows of all time.

Reflecting on all these things, I figured I should tip my hat to the man here. Thanks for everything you do Jon. You are appreciated.