LM1041 BTK

LM1041 BTK

LM, Episode 1041, 10/18/22

Tonight I’m in Wichita and it always reminds me of years ago I worked the comedy club here.  I got to spend the week reading the local newspaper, the Wichita Eagle.  No offense, but this is one step up from the National Inquirer.  

We had two wars going on, terrorists were trying to kill us, Wichita, KS had a serial killer loose for 30 years, BTK, he was sending letters to the police every day tell how he was planning on killing again, and the front page story in the paper was about a 50 pound catfish who tried to swallow a basketball.

The story said the catfish has become a celebrity because there’s a picture of it with a basketball caught in it’s mouth.  It said the lady who took the picture has become the catfish’s spokesperson because, and I quote, “The fish can’t talk.”

Of course he can’t talk, he has a basketball caught in his mouth.

I was on an 11 day trip when they caught the BTK killer.  His name is Dennis Rader.  Every restaurant, every hotel, every airport, when they’d see my credit card, they’d look up and ask, “Rader, are you from Wichita?”

Checking into a hotel in Birmingham, the woman asks, “Rader, are you from Wichita?”  

I reply, “Yes, and did I have to get out of there.  In fact, is there a Wal-Mart close because I need to buy rope, duct tape, and a knife.”

I was in a hotel in Little Rock the day they arrested BTK.  Not long after, I get a call from Dad, which was unusual.  He says,”I hope this killer named Rader doesn’t hurt your career.”

It never dawned on me that could be a problem, but the more I thought about it, the more motivated I was to write something funny about it.  The story I now tell is one that my audiences always enjoy.  

When Dad first heard me tell it, you could see he was proud I took something that could have been disastrous and made it funny so people could laugh.  It was nice because he was one of the people who taught me how much laughter matters.