Shemp-ing

Determined within the next month to watch "Soup to Nuts" (Three Stooges masterpiece with Shemp, not Curly, cuz I'm totally a Shemp girl all the way), "Duck Soup"(because the Marx brothers are awesome), and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (because The Beatles and the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton with hair in pastel colored piper jackets singing 'Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite' is just fricking priceless).

Seeing as I mentioned one of the holy comedic trinities that is the Three Stooges (yes, my choice of comedic trinity is split between either the Stooges and the Marx Bros.), I've got to say I'm totally a Shemp girl. He was so much funnier. Not saying that I don't love Curly-- little bastard certainly had his charms ("Hey, look up Moe! A leaky faucet!" Boink! Haha, that shit never gets old)-- but Shemp was the original Third Stooge. Despite that, he became the Stooge no one ever truly acknowledges. Everyone's always, "Larry, Curly, and Moe," or "Moe, Larry, and Curly," or whatever combination of the three you prefer. No one really remembers the classic "Moe, Larry, and Shemp" days. Um, hello? 'Soup to Nuts'? THAT WAS SHEMP, PEOPLE, NOT CURLY!

Ha. I guess I just know how Shemp feels.

Shemp's story (in five hundred words or less): was an original Stooge before they became the enigmatic Three Stooges (back when they were the act 'Ted Healy And His Stooges'). He left, they replaced him with baby brother Curly. Curly died, they begged him to come back. He dies being the Replaceable Stooge. Ouch.

Granted, he was popular on his owndoing all those comedies in New Yawk, but still, you never hear a decent Shemp-esque joke or pop culture reference, do you? And if you do, most people look at you with the question, "Who the fuck is Shemp? Sounds like a stoned sheep or something," in their eyes.

That is the point in my life I am at now. I feel like I've been replaced and kinda forgotten. Like it was so easy to shove someone else in the place that I was standing in, that I was just a seat warmer for the actual first stringer. Yes, I'm happy with my life-- I do have my irreplaceable best friends who try to make sure that I never feel like Shemp, I've got school, I've got work, my writing, my reading, my books, etc, etc, etc x1,000,006-- but I sometimes get this nagging feeling in the back of my head. That feeling of inadequacy, that crushing realization that you can be so easily replaced without a second thought.

Eugh. Emo awareness. Emo-ometer in check now.

Fuck 'em. Fuck all the lowlife bastards who think they can replace me. They can try, but they'll never truly succeed because I am determined to be better than them. I am Shemp- hear me roar.

Psst... Psst... Hey, look up, Moe! A leaky faucet! Haha, I will never get tired of that line.