Breakers

While walking on the beach in West Palm Beach, FL, it reminded me of a story many years ago at the famous Breakers Hotel.

It was originally built in 1896, under the name The Palm Beach Inn. The hotel burned down twice, once in 1903 and again in 1925.

In 1926 they rebuilt it and brought in 74 artisans from Italy, modeling the building after the Villa Medici in Rome. The building itself is truly a masterpiece.

In the mid-nineties I was booked for a private party and able to spend the weekend at this amazing hotel.

My plan was to do the show Friday night and then go visit my mom on the Saturday night before heading home on Sunday morning.

Dressed up in business casual, I headed down to the showroom on Friday and went to search for the person in charge.

I was told she wasn’t there yet, so I grabbed a seat at one of the tables, and it slowly filled up with other party guests. A luxurious dinner was served and I enjoyed my company very much. They were all distinct characters and funny and I was having so much fun. I told them that I was a comedian and was performing for them that night and they were thrilled. They said they didn’t know that they had a comedian, and I apologized for ruining their surprise. And of course, they were cool with that.

Dessert was about to be served and it was odd that the head of the company had not shown up yet. So, I just kept enjoying myself, while anxiously waiting for whatever heavenly confections were about to arrive.

Just then, the coordinator got to the event and I was introduced.

She looked bewildered.

She told me that she had never hired a comedian. That it was news to her.

I excused myself and called the gig’s booker and asked what the deal was, and it turns out the party I was performing for was on SATURDAY NIGHT, in the same room.

I apologized to the woman and asked her if she wanted a show anyway and she said that the evening was too busy with their own presentations.

So, I headed to my family’s place in Hollywood, and my mom and I laughed and laughed about it.

The next night, I did the show and the crowd was ok, but the food and the company was not half as good as the night before.

I still wonder what the dessert was on Friday.