My first assignment with ETNComedy did end up being the Robert Kelly show in Kingsport. This was in April 2016. Jane and I didn’t have to do much. We were essentially ushers, checking ticket stubs and showing guests to their seats. That and hanging around to help out with anything that needed doing during the meet and greet were the extent of our duties. We did get free admission and a small payment for our services, so that was a nice bonus. The show was a success, and I’m happy to report that Brad and I were not the blubbering fools that we were the first time we met Robert. The next assignment didn’t come until almost a year later, with the Funniest Person in the Tri-Cities competition. This was a competition among local comedians, with the winner being determined by audience votes. Doctor Steve managed to get Shuli Egar, from the Howard Stern show, to serve as the host. We had a few more duties to perform at this one. Jane scanned tickets and handed out raffle tickets to the attendees. I served as the photographer for the show. Being that I have absolutely no professional photography experience, I didn’t feel that the photos turned out too badly. Thus far, the only other ETNComedy event was a free Tim Dillon show at the Allandale Mansion in Kingsport in August 2017. I didn’t work this show, as there was no real need. The owners of the Allandale Mansion held a series of free concerts that month, so they pretty much did all the work. I did attend the show, but this was a purely casual event. We have no word on the next event as of yet. I’ve heard rumors that ETNComedy is trying to secure a venue that can be used for all upcoming performances. There is also a rumor that they are working on bringing comedians Bonnie MacFarlane and Rich Vos, from the podcast My Wife Hates Me, to the area, but nothing is set in stone yet.  
It all started with podcasts. As you can see from this essay, podcasts have played an important role in my activities over the past few years. Every entertainer mentioned above has a podcast that helped them gain fans and achieve at least some of their success. I can’t argue against the fact that the podcast market has become quite saturated, but I can definitely see the positive effects that they have had on listeners and podcasters. This effect has extended to my personal life, as well. I’ve lived the last twenty years of my life in relative comfort. I’ve had decent jobs with decent pay that allowed me to have a happy life. However, the fact that I didn’t have a job that I necessarily enjoyed or one of which I could be proud, took its toll after some time. Seeing how quickly things changed by simply sending an email after a comedy show opened my eyes to possibilities in other parts of my life. Jane and I came up with a plan. She is a dog groomer and has always wanted to own her own grooming business. Our plan was to finally make that happen. Over the summer of 2017, we prepared and opened her business, Simple Pet Salon, out of our home, I was finally able to walk away from a menial call center job, and I enrolled in college with the ultimate goal of completing the Medical Laboratory Technology program. As of this writing, I am three weeks into the process, with only two and a half years to go. Whether or not I succeed remains to be seen. Whether or not ETNComedy continues to succeed in its goals remain to be seen. All I know for sure is that I can say with some confidence that whatever happens in the future, I have learned to be more flexible than I was in the past and to be a bit more creative in the ways that I approach life. That is something that will be a benefit for as long as I am able to keep on living. 
