Finding joy after 40 starts with humor, purpose, and the courage to pursue a second act. In this uplifting episode, Lesa sits down with Rabbi Bob Alper—standup comedian, author, and widely loved “rabbi with a punchline”—to talk about finding joy after 40, chasing your calling, and using humor to heal.

Bob shares how he went from decades in the pulpit to a full-time comedy career, what kept him going through the bad nights, and why laughter isn’t just entertainment—it has a meaningful, even “holy” purpose. You’ll hear powerful stories about humor helping people through grief, cancer, and hard seasons, plus a behind-the-scenes look at Bob’s viral “funny driver’s license” that has brightened strangers’ days for years.

If you’re craving joy, longing for a second act, or learning how to stop white-knuckling life and start enjoying it—this episode is for you.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction: finding joy, second acts, and why humor matters

(02:10) Rabbi Bob’s take: humor has a “holy purpose”

(05:10) Lesa’s personal shift: missing fun and joy while “white-knuckling” life

(07:05) When Bob knew his calling was shifting

(09:30) The Jewish Comic of the Year contest that changed everything

(12:20) Why standup is different: instant validation and connection

(14:45) The moment a dying woman said: “For an hour and a half, I forgot I was sick”

(17:10) Bad nights, polite applause, and why grit matters

(20:05) Bob’s “funny driver’s license” and the mission behind it

(25:30) TSA and rental car stories: joy in everyday encounters

(29:20) Keeping humor wholesome: never at someone else’s expense

(33:10) The joke Bob removed forever—and why

(36:40) Bob’s books: Life Doesn’t Get Better Than This and Thanks, I Needed That

(40:20) A powerful story from the book: “Then I held you”

(45:10) Writing, rejection, and why publishing builds resilience

(50:00) Where to find Bob and his work + closing reflections on joy

Key Takeaways:

1. Humor isn’t “extra”—it can be a meaningful tool for healing and connection
2. 
   
3. A second act can start by following what energizes you and what people respond to
4. 
   
5. Grit is required: failure is part of finding your voice and refining your craft
6. 
   
7. Wholesome laughter matters—true humor shouldn’t come at someone else’s expense
8. 
   
9. Joy can be intentionally practiced through everyday moments, not just big life changes
10. 
    

Guest Bio:

Rabbi Bob Alper is a standup comedian, author, and former congregational rabbi who transitioned into comedy full-time after decades of using humor as a tool for connection and teaching. He has performed across the U.S. and internationally, including faith-based events for diverse audiences. Bob is the author of Life Doesn’t Get Better Than This and Thanks, I Needed That: And Other Stories of the Spirit, sharing poignant, heartfelt stories about meaning, laughter, and the human experience.

Resource Links:

Website and Social Media links:

http://www.bobalper.com/

http://www.facebook.com/thatfunnyrabbi

http://www.instagram.com/bobalper/

http://www.tiktok.com/@comedian1818

http://www.youtube.com/@bobalper1

x.com/bob_alper?s=09

http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobalper/

Welcome listeners.

2

I am so excited to have you here today

because I'm always looking for the joy.

3

So today is kinda something different.

4

We're gonna talk about pursuing your

dreams and finding the second act

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in your professional life, which

is something that I've really done.

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I think I've actually done

it a couple times and we're

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gonna talk about using humor.

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To enhance people's lives, and

I think I have the perfect guest

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to talk about all these things.

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I'm so blessed to have Rabbi Bob Eler.

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We're just gonna call him Bob, but he is

probably, I think, the only rabbi who's

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also a standup comedian in the world.

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Is that right Bob?

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Speaker 2: Well, probably

thousands and thousands of rabbis

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think they're standup comics.

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No, I'm the only one.

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Most rabbis will do say, uh, things

like, okay, boys and girls, what

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was the name of Isaiah's horse?

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It was Tooth.

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Because Isaiah's always

saying, whoa, tooth toothy.

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Ha ha ha.

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Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Haha.

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Speaker 2: That's not good standup.

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So, I, I, I'm envied by my envied

by my colleagues, um, because

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many, many clergy people use humor.

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It's a great device.

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I always used it when I serve

congregations, and I'm sure.

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You know, it's, it's has ancient,

uh, writers of the Talmud.

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There's a guy named Rabba in the

Talmud used to start every lesson

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with a joke because then it would

relax the students and they were able

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to take in the important meaning.

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So, humor's a really critical part.

34

It's not just diversion, it's

not just, uh, throwaway stuff.

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Humor has a, a.

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If I dare say a holy purpose, uh, in life.

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And I think I've, uh, incorporated into

my career and, and my, my advocation too.

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Speaker: Mm-hmm.

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I so firmly believe that.

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And I talk on this podcast a lot

about how I've kind of white knuckled

41

it through life and I thought

I had everything figured out.

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You know, how to eat well, how to

exercise, how to do everything right.

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And the thing that I was

missing was the fun and the joy.

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And so I'm getting there.

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I'm not funny.

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So I don't try to be, but I love to laugh.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker: So, so I think

this is gonna be a good one.

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And, um, I love something too that

you, you brought up Maya Angelou

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so that somewhere in some of your

writing I'm like, oh, I love her.

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And you talked about how.

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We kinda don't remember much about

people, but how they make us feel.

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Right.

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And so I think that you've used that

in your life, but I kind of wanna

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know, so you're a rabbi, right?

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For years, when did things

switch and how did you know

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that your calling had shifted?

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Speaker 2: Well, first of all,

I was, I was, I was funny all

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my, I was a funny toddler.

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I can remember a joke that

I did when I was three.

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I was a funny toddler and I always used,

as I say, in my routine, I always used

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jokes and funny stories in my sermons,

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Speaker 3: Uhhuh

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Speaker 2: for my congregations, which

has given me over 50 years experience

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before me in front of a hostile audience.

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But the truth is, I always did use humor.

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Um, whether it be in high school

where I'd, uh, do comedy comedian

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routines, uh, at a talent night of

our Jewish youth group, and then.

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That was good.

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They elected me to offices and the

girls paid a lot of attention to me.

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Um, the way I got into standup

comedy is I'd served two large

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congregations, uh, for about 14 years.

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I then left the congregation.

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I earned a doctoral degree from

Princeton Theological Seminary.

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I was gonna open a counseling practice

into lifecycle events in Philadelphia,

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and suddenly in the middle of the

summer, the Jewish Weekly announced

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a Jewish comic of the year contest.

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So I entered.

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I came in third behind a

chiropractor and a lawyer.

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The, um, one of the judges was

the hostess of AM Philadelphia,

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the top rated morning TV show.

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And she thought I should have won.

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And she was right.

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Um, so she had me on her show

and that, that got things going.

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And I, I ended up finding a guy

who, who wrote some jokes for me.

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Um, he went on to become.

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Believe it or not, for 18 years, the

head writer for The Tonight Show,

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Speaker: no way.

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Speaker 2: Joe Maderis a great guy.

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So I started doing little shows.

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I started doing comedy clubs.

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I would do a wedding, and then I'd

go out in the parking lot, open the

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front and back door of my car, change

outta my suit, put on my jeans,

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head off to the comedy cabaret,

and do a set at the Comedy Cabaret.

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And this developed into, it became, uh,

my, my vocation and within, uh, four

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years after doing, starting and I, we were

able to move to Vermont, which we love.

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We adore living here.

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And, uh, I became a full-time comedian.

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Speaker: That is so crazy.

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And I'm so curious because I feel

like, um, sometimes I, and I feel

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like women like me can kind of jump

towards like shiny new object or,

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oh, I think this is where my gifts

are and this is what I need to do.

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So how, I mean, it sounds

like the door opened, like you

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were gonna do something else.

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You were gonna, you knew

that you didn't wanna keep.

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The congregation.

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Am I?

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Am I right?

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And you got your doctor's degree

and you were gonna do counseling,

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Speaker 2: right?

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Speaker: And then the shift came.

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What made you do that con?

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Just 'cause you like to make people laugh.

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Speaker 2: I love, I love doing it.

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I, you know, it's, there's such a rush

that you get from making people laugh.

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It's an immediate response.

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You know, I was talking to, uh, um, uh.

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John Irving can drop a name here.

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John Irving.

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Yeah.

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Used to live in our town and we had

dinner one night and he was telling

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me how when he wrote, uh, Garp for

example, he went to the theater where

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to see the, see the movie for the first

time and he sat in the back quietly.

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No one knew he was there.

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And he said that was the first

time he had validation that what

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he thought was funny was funny.

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Because he heard the audience laugh.

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Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.

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Speaker 2: That, and I said, that's

the total opposite of standup stand up.

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You're up there, you say

something, they laugh immediately

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or they don't laugh immediately.

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But it's the, the validation

to get right away.

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And that's, that's wonderful.

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And then sometimes there's a

secondary validation, which, which

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is more serious and more meaningful.

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Uh, but I think probably the.

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The highest point of my career, and I've

been doing standup for about 35 years.

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After a show, a woman who I knew was

dying of cancer came up to me and

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she said, you know, she said, for an

hour and a half, I forgot I was sick.

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Aw.

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So, you know.

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Speaker: Yeah.

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And you know what?

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Maybe you healed her a little bit.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker: Who knows?

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Who knows?

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Okay.

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So what you start, you start doing this.

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Was it all easy or were there

things that were hard about it?

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Speaker 2: I had some bad nights.

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Speaker: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I remember, uh, a guy named

Andy Scarpa, he's, he owns the comedy club

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in, uh, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, near

where we lived outside of Philadelphia.

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And he would put me on stage, you know,

a lot of times, I remember one time I was

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up there and I was just dying, I mean.

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Nothing I was supposed to do 15 minutes

and after 10 minutes I just bailed.

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And he was the mc.

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So he walked onto the stage.

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I was walking off the stage.

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We met in the middle, we shook

hands and he whispers in my ear.

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Now you know what polite

applause is all about.

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So, and I, you know, I think

the worst show ever that I ever

164

had to do was, uh, a late night

bachelorette party in the audience.

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I mean, you know, it's tough at,

but any comedian knows that, uh,

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he or she is going to die and fail.

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And fail and fail, and then you

stop failing if you're good.

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You know?

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You, you,

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Speaker: yeah.

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And I guess what?

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Yeah.

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So where's that grit?

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You had grit.

175

Like you, there was

something in you that knew.

176

So, because a lot of people

would have a bad show and quit.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker: And switch to something else.

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So what made you stay?

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Speaker 2: Just because I, I was, I was

doing okay and I had all my life I had

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been funny, so I knew what the feeling

was, um, when, whether it was in youth

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group or whether I was the editor of

a high school paper in Providence.

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So we put on April Fool's

Edition, um, and, uh.

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Um, by the way, some, we had

six kids who, who did it?

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Myself and five other kids.

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One of the kids who was the co-writer

on the April Fools edition was Robin

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Green, who went on to be one of

the first writers for the Sopranos.

188

Wow.

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But that's another story.

190

Yes.

191

But always, you know, people,

people laughing, uh, at me and.

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There's a, the satisfaction I

get from it, um, is enormous.

193

I have a very funny

license, driver's license.

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I'm gonna show you.

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I think, I think it'll, it'll show up.

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Speaker: If it doesn't, we can explain it.

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Speaker 2: Okay.

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But I, I think this, this will,

uh, um, let's see if we can.

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Yeah.

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Speaker: Oh, I love that.

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I always wanna look my best.

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And you're looking funny,

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Speaker 2: so, so this,

this is my real license.

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Speaker: That's so crazy.

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Speaker 2: And I show it,

whenever I show it to people.

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They say they let you do that.

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And so I then, then I turn it over and

this is what I have written on the back.

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Speaker: Oh my gosh.

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Speaker 2: So.

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I've had this license for a long time.

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This is brand new, and

I was really thrilled.

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They, they didn't shut me

down, they let me do it.

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In fact, when I went to the Departure

Motor Vehicles, uh, in nearby, nearby

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Rutland, Vermont, I wasn't sure

they were gonna let me do it again.

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But, uh, uh, and I was prepared.

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If they wouldn't, I was gonna go.

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To another office that's going to

Bennington or Burlington or St.

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Johnsbury.

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But the young woman at the counter,

uh, who also took the pictures, I

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came up and I had my old license

with, had the same kind of picture.

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I said, you know, I, I'd

like to do this again.

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And she paused.

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She looked at me, she said.

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We've been waiting for you.

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You have to make an appointment.

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I guess they look at the license plate.

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We've been waiting for you.

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Speaker: Oh my gosh.

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Speaker 2: She took the picture.

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She looked at the picture.

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She said, I don't like

the lighting on this.

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Let's do it again.

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Speaker: Oh, cute.

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Speaker 2: So we did it again

and what I'm building towards

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is, is what happened at the end.

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At the end we were talking about this

and I told her what this license means.

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Uh, and the example I use is when I

checked into a hotel late one night, the

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desk clerk had a sad look on his face.

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And I showed him my license and he broke

into a little smile and then he looked at

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me, he said, I've had a really rough day.

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He said, thanks, I needed that.

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Speaker: Aw.

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Speaker 2: So the title of my second

book is, thanks I Needed That,

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and Other Stories of the Spirit.

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And there's a chapter that

talks about using that driver's

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license and the pictures.

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It's in the book, using that driver's

license and, and what it does for people.

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You know, I, it's, it's my mission

to use this license and to show it.

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And two examples, uh, going

through the TSA at the airport,

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they're pretty serious.

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These guys, if there's no one behind

me at a time, I say to the guy, uh,

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uh, I'm gonna show you my license,

but, uh, you're gonna look at a

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thousand licenses today, but you're

gonna tell your family about mine.

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Speaker 4: What do you mean?

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Or

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Speaker 2: then I show him his license.

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They just, they melt.

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He says, okay, when you get to

the x-ray machine, Eddie and

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Monique show them your license.

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Speaker 5: Oh, funny.

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Speaker 2: And he signals that they

got, and, and they have a little party.

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The second example, um,

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so there's some people who, who,

uh, uh, they work in, uh, uh, rental

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car facilities and it's their job,

uh, at the, uh, at the exit of the

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parking lot to compare driver's

licenses and uh, uh, paperwork.

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And I know, you know, some of these

guys like their, they're middle-aged

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Pakistanis, uh, probably have two, uh,

master's in engineering degrees, but

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this is how they have to make a living.

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And, you know, it's not a

great way to make a living.

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I show up with my driver's license

and they'll seriously look at

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the license and then smile.

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And then laugh and then look at

me and say, oh, may I show it

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to my friend in the next booth?

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Of course.

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And have a little

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Speaker 5: party.

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Speaker 2: It makes their day

and it really makes my day.

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Um, so those are, are the reasons,

the reasons I do what I do, uh,

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is I want to make people laugh.

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And there's, I find laughter

is not just diversion.

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Um, it's not just entertainment.

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There's a holiness, uh, in laughter

and there's, there's a mission.

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In, in helping people laugh.

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And, and by the way, I'm very, uh,

uh, guard, I'm a guardian of laughter.

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The laughter should be wholesome.

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Laughter, yes.

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It

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Speaker 2: should never

be at someone's expense.

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Yes.

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Uh, or, or, or dirty or, you

know, it should be wholesome.

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And, um, I could give you an example

of something I did in my career.

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Well, if we have time, I'll

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Speaker: Absolutely.

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I, I, I wanna hear it.

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And I,

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Speaker 2: I,

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Speaker: I, yeah.

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I love the fact that your mission.

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Is to bring joy.

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And that's your purpose.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker: And I keep thinking about that.

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And before you jump into to the,

with the story, you're gonna have

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put a pin in that, because I'm so

curious at the time that you decided.

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I'm gonna do standup comedy.

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Did you have a family?

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Was it like, did it affect other people?

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And what did they think?

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Speaker 2: They didn't like

it, so I got rid of them.

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I got a new wife, several kids.

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I, uh, um, I've only been

married to my current wife.

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Uh, it's only, uh, uh, 56 years.

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Speaker 5: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Good.

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So, um, my, my wife, uh, uh, is,

is, has been very supportive.

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Um, and, uh, you know, she

doesn't like all my jokes.

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Um, and, but she's, she's very

supportive of my career 'cause she

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knows I'm, I'm happy and, and what

makes we make each other happy?

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Speaker 5: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Uh, our kids, no, especially

when I would talk about them when they

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were teenagers, they weren't happy.

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But, you know, I kept saying, you know

what, this pays your tuition in college.

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So, you know.

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Yeah.

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Just, just don't, don't, you know that

that's the way we earn our living.

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Speaker: Yes.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, so

I, it was easy to do it.

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My wife, uh, worked all the time.

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She's a psychotherapist.

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She was a, a psychotherapist, um, and had

private practice, uh, for about 30 years.

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Um, in fact, we, we say we

have complimentary careers.

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I make people laugh and

she helps people cry.

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Speaker 3: You need a little of each

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Speaker 2: or, or the other.

335

The other line is, um,

um, we have an agreement.

336

Um, I don't, I don't criticize

the way she does therapy and she

337

criticizes the way I do comedy.

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Speaker: That works too.

339

That's a, that's a signs

of a great marriage.

340

Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Speaker: I'm, I'm coming behind you.

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I've been 34 years married.

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Speaker 2: Okay.

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Okay.

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Speaker: Yes.

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Speaker 2: But I tell people the way

we met, it's, you know, um, my parents

348

had moved to Bennington, Vermont.

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I grew up in, in Providence, but,

uh, moved to Bennington, Vermont.

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So I came home from college at the end

of my, my sophomore year, and I was

351

hanging out with a friend whose younger

sister was hosting a slumber party.

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For six girls with whom she

just graduated high school.

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So we crashed the party and for

some reason they were all sitting

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on the floor of the kitchen.

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I looked down, I saw one really

cute girl wearing pink baby doll

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pajamas, and I thought, wow, I

bet she would look hot in clothes.

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That's so.

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I mean, that's part of my routine.

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I, I continue, I say, uh,

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Women didn't have the choices back then.

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Today, women can take their husband's

name, keep their maiden names,

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they can hyphenate back then, my

wife did the traditional thing.

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She, she took my name.

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Her name used to be Sherry Zinc,

and now it's uh, uh, Bob Sink.

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Yeah.

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Anyway, so we're, I I was, I'm leading

on something about, uh, using that.

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Speaker: Yeah.

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You were talking about, um, how

there's a holiness to it and you

369

like to keep it clean and that there

was a decision that you had to make,

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Speaker 2: right?

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Yeah.

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In your

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Speaker: career.

374

I wanna hear about that.

375

Speaker 2: Well, the, the, um, when

I was back in the early nineties,

376

I had a, a manager then, and she

would book some shows for me.

377

I would do a joke about, I did a lot

of, a lot of material about weddings

378

and I would do one joke about how

so many of the couples would choose

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as their processional, the song from

Fiddler on the Roof, sunrise, sunset.

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You remember the sunrise, sunset?

381

Mm-hmm.

382

And it, I said, it would always amuse me

to see the 220 pound bride walked down the

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aisle to is this little girl I carried So.

384

I was doing that joke and my, my agent,

she was a heavyset woman, she thought

385

it was hysterical, but I was at a show

at Lancaster, Pennsylvania and she was

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making the final arrangements, and she

called me, she said, Bob, um, the woman

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I talked to asked if you were gonna do

that joke about sunrise, sunset, the

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little girl I carried and clicked right.

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I said, I'm sure she's a

woman with a weight problem.

390

And I'm sure when she hears that joke,

she does not think it's that funny.

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Speaker: Right.

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Speaker 2: I never did that joke again.

393

Ever.

394

And when I switched over from

the cassette tape of my show, my

395

show to a cd, I edited it out.

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'cause I never wanted to do anything

that's gonna make someone uncomfortable.

397

Right.

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Or unhappy.

399

Even if everyone else thinks

it's funny, it's not worth it.

400

Speaker: Right.

401

Speaker 2: So.

402

That's the kind of material I do.

403

And uh, um, you know, most

of it is self-deprecation.

404

We've got a, a brand new joke I've

been doing about our, we have cats.

405

Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.

406

Speaker 2: And, uh, um, I talk about

how when we lived in Philadelphia and

407

moved to, and we traveled to Vermont

every six weeks or so, we ultimately

408

moved up to up here to Vermont.

409

But when we travel, uh, we

had a cat named Dracula.

410

Dracula was a, a great traveler.

411

He put some Kidd lit in the backseat.

412

Speaker: Crazy.

413

Speaker 2: But the thing is, for

Dracula, the air in New Jersey

414

always served as a laxative.

415

Speaker: Oh,

416

Speaker 2: the newest joke that, uh,

417

Speaker: I can only imagine that.

418

Yeah.

419

Yes.

420

So tell me, um, if people.

421

Want to get ahold of you.

422

How do they, and I, you know, I forgot

to mention too, you've got, you're

423

an author, you've written books.

424

Um, I mean that's another thing

that I'd like to have in my

425

show notes so people can read.

426

Um, 'cause I'm sure you're fun

to, you're fun to read as well.

427

Speaker 2: Get a second.

428

Let me, lemme get

429

Speaker: the.

430

Speaker 2: This, this is my first book.

431

Speaker: Life doesn't

get better than this.

432

Speaker 2: Yep.

433

And, uh, that's by the, that's my son.

434

He's,

435

Speaker: aw,

436

Speaker 2: he's 50.

437

Speaker: Is that crazy?

438

Speaker 2: And this is, uh.

439

My second book.

440

Speaker: Thanks.

441

I needed that.

442

Speaker 2: Yeah.

443

And this one, this went through five

Printing is all, is a bestseller.

444

Yes.

445

Um, this, the second book,

different different publisher,

446

uh, marketing books differently.

447

But anyway, they, they

did very, very well.

448

And the original publisher, my first

book was Log, which is the largest

449

Catholic publisher in the country.

450

Speaker: Crazy.

451

Speaker 2: Um, the editor who

selected my manuscript, um, felt that.

452

She used to work for a man named

Bishop Fulton Sheen, a priest

453

who was on national television,

adored by everyone, all religions.

454

She felt that I was the same kind.

455

Uh, and the books are not funny books.

456

They're serious.

457

There's some humor in right.

458

Serious books and, uh, 35

poignant stories in each book.

459

They're available in Amazon at

Barnes and Noble to get them.

460

Just Google Alper and

you'll, you'll find me.

461

Okay.

462

Um, so.

463

When the, when Laur is publishing on

the spine of the book, there's a cross

464

because it's a Catholic publisher.

465

So I always said, look for the

spine with, with the plus on it.

466

Um, and, uh, you find my book.

467

Um, but it's, uh, it did very, very well.

468

And, and Laur is a great publisher.

469

Um, so they're, they're out there and

every story, you know, I love every story.

470

Um, there.

471

Warm and poignant and, uh, I mean, there's

one, one story, uh, about a friend.

472

I'll make it quick.

473

Uh, a friend of mine who ran a

small restaurant in our little town

474

and, uh, during mud season, which

is, um, spring when there are no

475

tourists here, and, uh, it's muddy.

476

Uh, not a lot of people there, but

he was running his restaurant, little

477

restaurant, and two nuns walked in.

478

And he started talking to them.

479

He said, where are you from?

480

They said, Scranton.

481

He said, I'm from Scranton.

482

What did you do in Scranton?

483

And the nun said, well, we spent

our entire careers at the St.

484

Joseph Orphanage, and suddenly

the wind went out of Ken's lungs.

485

He said, I spent the first

two years of my life there

486

Speaker: really.

487

Speaker 2: Then they started,

and Ken was a kibitzer, funny as

488

he could be, a real character.

489

He was an actor, he was an improv actor.

490

He was lively, funny,

gregarious, warm humor.

491

And he said to them, what

years did you work there?

492

And they compared notes.

493

And then the, the older of

the two older nuns looked at

494

Ken and smiled and said, why?

495

Then I held you.

496

And the story ends, at which point, Ken,

the kibitzer, the funny man, the comedian

497

lowered his head and began to weep.

498

Aw.

499

So, uh, says, that's,

that's one of my stories.

500

Speaker: I love that.

501

And you know, I, I'm actually

writing a book too right now, and.

502

You can.

503

So I've worked with Bob Goff.

504

I don't know if you know who Bob is.

505

Speaker 2: Familiar.

506

Speaker: Yeah.

507

He's written some books.

508

He's a great guy.

509

And so he's helped me and the book is

gonna be much better because of him,

510

because he said, Lisa write 90 stories.

511

And I was like, and have, what

do you, you know what I mean?

512

So I sat down it, it's

taken me a lot longer.

513

Speaker 4: Yeah.

514

Speaker: But what I found that's

so healing and interesting.

515

It's turned into

something I didn't expect.

516

And the lessons that each of those

stories, you write 'em and you don't

517

even see the lesson till you're

done and you're like, oh my gosh.

518

Speaker 2: Yeah.

519

Speaker: It's such a, it's like

a powerful experience to just, I

520

would just recommend it to everyone.

521

You know,

522

Speaker 2: I love, I love writing.

523

Um, the hard part is putting

the first words down to me.

524

It's not the hard part,

but I love editing.

525

I, I find that very satisfying.

526

Speaker: I don't, there,

I love most of it.

527

And then there's some things

where I'm like, so now I've

528

gotta start looking for an agent.

529

You know what I mean?

530

And then get a publisher because

it's pretty much the bones are there,

531

but I kind of keep moving things

around and I'm like, oh, is this ever

532

gonna feel like, okay, this is it.

533

Let's.

534

Send it off.

535

I don't know,

536

Speaker 2: people, people ask me why

I wrote books, and I always answer.

537

I said, well, it's like this.

538

My career as a comedian, I get these

instant laughter, as I mentioned,

539

instant laughter, all kinds of applause.

540

I looked at my life and I

thought, what's missing?

541

Well.

542

Rejection.

543

So I decided to write a book and I

got rejected by agents and then I got

544

an agent and then I got rejected by

publishers and then we got a publisher.

545

Speaker: Yeah,

546

Speaker 2: rejection.

547

You get a lot of that.

548

Um

549

Speaker: Oh great.

550

Speaker 2: Rejected by a hundred

people before you got an agent.

551

Speaker: That's hard.

552

I mean that you really have to

have tremendous grit to keep going.

553

Speaker 2: Right.

554

Speaker: And some people self-publish too.

555

Speaker 2: Yeah.

556

Speaker: You know, and I think

Bob Goff has, he is had publishers

557

and he is self-published.

558

I think, you know, once he got

it out there and is kinda well

559

known, then he can self-publish.

560

So, yes, I'm not quite sure the

route I'm gonna take, but I'm, I'm

561

getting there and it's been fun.

562

Speaker 2: Yeah,

563

Speaker: it's, I don't really look

forward to rejection, but I don't,

564

Speaker 2: I, when I, when I,

uh, my first book was gonna be

565

humor and then my, my agent.

566

Talked to a, a publisher that

she respects and who respect her.

567

He said, humor's the

hardest thing to publish.

568

And then she said to me, Bob, you

know, I, in one of your stories,

569

there was a poignant little scene.

570

Can you write poignant?

571

I said, yes, I can write poignant.

572

So I've now written like

70 poignant chapters.

573

Um, and, uh, you know, it's, uh, my

wife keeps saying I should do more.

574

I might.

575

Speaker: Yeah, you should.

576

It's, I mean, if you like it right.

577

But I, it's fun.

578

Okay, well our time Bob is up and I just

wanna thank you for taking the time to

579

be here for bringing Joy to the world.

580

Speaker 2: Well, you're a great laughter.

581

Speaker: Thank I'm not

funny, but I like to laugh.

582

Speaker 2: Well, that's, you know, having

a sense of humor doesn't mean, you know,

583

telling jokes is acting, but a person

with a greatest singer is a laugher.

584

You have a great sense of humor

and you ask about difficult times.

585

Trust me, I've done podcasts

or other interviews with.

586

Non laughers.

587

Oh.

588

Or even worse than that, multitaskers.

589

Oh.

590

Try and tell a joke to a multitasker.

591

Like when we had had to do zoom, you know?

592

Uh, yeah.

593

During COVID I did a about 50 or 60

Zoom programs, and before I learned

594

to tell people to shut off their mics.

595

I'd be building up to a joke and

you have to have full attention.

596

Speaker 3: Yeah.

597

Speaker 2: And at one time I, I'm building

up to a joke and I hear some of 'em.

598

I go, uh, mark, would you get me a

a a Diet Coke while you're in there?

599

And I thought, well, this

is as bad as it gets.

600

Yeah, no, it, it was worse because a

couple, couple, uh, zooms later, I'm

601

building up their joke and everyone

hears someone say, who's a good boy?

602

Who's a good boy?

603

Yes, you are.

604

What a good boy.

605

Speaker: Isn't it crazy?

606

I know I've been on some podcasts

too, where they have different

607

camera angles and you're not even

looking at the person and I'm just,

608

Speaker 2: yeah,

609

Speaker: it's a little hard.

610

I, I need to see you.

611

And then I had, I had a guest on who.

612

It didn't feel like she looked good,

so she didn't wanna be on camera.

613

And I was like, Ooh, how am

I gonna connect with you if

614

I can't even see your face?

615

Yeah.

616

But we did it.

617

It worked.

618

I guess you connect over

the phone too, so Yeah,

619

Speaker 2: so, so my

website is bob alper.com.

620

B-O-B-A-L-P-E r.com.

621

People think our name is Alpert.

622

Uh, it used to be Alpert, but we, we

dropped the T at a party in Boston.

623

Speaker 5: Oh my gosh.

624

Speaker 2: So that's how

I get people to remember.

625

But bob alper.com,

626

if people, if you go on bob alper.com,

627

uh, what you see is there's this video,

there's me performing at the Villages

628

down in Florida, 650 people and this

huge res uh, resort community, uh, you

629

know, it's a, a retirement community.

630

Uh, there's another video of

me, I think, uh, one of the

631

clubs in New York that I do.

632

And, uh, anyway.

633

Plenty of videos also on YouTube.

634

There are 70 or 80.

635

I've looked at some.

636

Speaker: Yeah,

637

Speaker 2: they're all over.

638

So, and I'd love to come to your community

wherever you are watching and perform.

639

I do.

640

Uh, uh, churches, synagogues, uh, mosques.

641

I performed at Muslim Fest.

642

Isn't that crazy?

643

In Toronto, in front of 2000 Muslims.

644

Um, I did, uh, about, uh,

300 shows with Muslim comics.

645

We did a thing called Laugh in Peace.

646

One of the guys I worked with, his

name is Mo Amer, which people know

647

now because he's got two Netflix

specials, three Netflix specials,

648

Speaker 5: and

649

Speaker 2: his show MO is a groundbreaking

show about, uh, Palestinian family.

650

On Netflix, and he's all

over the world performing.

651

He's a, he's a wonderful guy, but he

and I used to do shows together and

652

uh, uh, at Muslim Fest in Toronto,

653

They had a few young Muslim

comedians, uh, perform before me.

654

Got on stage.

655

I looked over this audience.

656

I said, I feel really,

really strange here.

657

I said, think of it.

658

All of you, all of you are.

659

Canadian and I'm American,

660

had a great show.

661

Speaker: Oh, good, good, good.

662

Yes.

663

Listeners, if you, and are your books on

your website too, or do they need to just

664

Speaker 2: find, I just redid the website.

665

Speaker: Okay.

666

Speaker 2: I don't, I sort of, I don't

like to sell them out of my house, so, but

667

Amazon and Barnes, they're right there.

668

Barnes Perfect.

669

Speaker: There.

670

We'll have all those in the show notes.

671

So Rabbi Bob, I know you didn't want

me to call you that, but thank you.

672

Thank you for being here.

673

I so appreciate it.

674

Thank you for living through

my technical difficulty too.

675

That's okay, ilo.

676

Speaker 4: No

677

Speaker 2: problem.

678

Speaker: All right.

679

You take good care.

680

Speaker 4: Thank you too, Lisa.

681

Thanks.

682

Take

683

Speaker: care.

684

Speaker 4: Bye-bye.

685

Bye.