Heaven help me, I did it again. I did a show last night and during my set, I mention this video:

I talk about how funny the slip up is, but then I go into a bit about the mountain climber himself. The main part is…

My point was always that the blind guy wouldn’t be able to see the view from the top, so why go through all that work? It’s been one of my go to jokes for a while (you can hear it on my CD) and I’ve never really worried about it…and then came last night.

After the show I was waiting to say goodbye to the audience and pose for pictures with some of the folks. (What? Some people want to take a picture with me. Yes they do. Stop laughing. You know what, I’m just gonna go back to my blog) At one point, I noticed a lovely young lady standing to the side looking like she was waiting for someone. Then I noticed that she was carrying a cane. Not a “pimp walk” cane either. This was a cane you use when you have a visual impairment. …uh oh

She walks over to me and says, “You’re the comic who had the joke about the blind guy, right?”

Busted.

Fortunately, she was super sweet. She didn’t come over to tell me the joke offended her, but she came to tell me about the man being refereed to in the clip. Erik Weihenmayer is apparently not a dude to mess with. Not only is he the only blind person to reach the top of Mount Everest, he’s climbed the highest mountains on all seven continents. The dude started an organization called “No Barriers” that helps people with challenges live better lives…including injured soldiers. I may be able to see better than he can, but clearly he’s got a better perspective on life.

So today, I’d like to salute Erik Weihenmayer and thank him. Not only for the great work he’s doing, but for being the inspiration to one of my favorite fails. I vow, from now on to give you a proper shout out in my joke. And thank you to Wendy, the audience member who shared all this information with me.