I live in New York, and watched the twin towers fall. It was then that I started to think about ________ . I realized people needed to laugh, to ________ themselves again, and thought that with a little ________ I could do it. I took a few classes and ________ picked up the courage to get up on stage.

In New York, comedians are typically young men. It’s hard enough to ________ as a woman. As I stepped on stage that first time, I introduced myself, ________ my age and tried my first joke. There was ________ . But by the time I got to the third line, people were ________ . I was hooked.

After the show, people young and old come up to me, saying what a(n) ________ I am. They say they want to be as ________ as me when they reach my age. I’m pleased I can ________ that as an older person you don’t need to take a back seat in life.

My friends think I’m ________ . They don’t understand why I wouldn’t choose to take it easy. But I like ________ the world and you’ve got to be in touch to be funny.

As an older person in comedy, I do feel as if I’ve got more to ________ . I have to convince people I’m worthy of being on that stage. I’ve no intention of ________ comedy. I hope to still be performing when I’m 100.