The Shelly & Doug Fun-o-Meter

A funny thing about me moving to Madison is that it’s the home of a special friend, Doug (not to be confused with the other top Dougs in my life).

Why funny? Because Doug and I have been running into each other on and off for 30 years, and now we’re going to live in the same town. And, we have fun together. And, Doug is an especially funny person. It’s high time to tell you about me and my friend, Doug.

All you need to know is illustrated in one professionally made chart.

To read the handy Fun-o-Meter, start at the bottom in green, in the 1980s. (Nevermind that I can’t figure out how to make that go from red to green, or that I skipped a decade in there somewhere. It’s a damn fine chart.)

Yes, Doug and I knew each other in high school, where we were on the staff of the literary magazine.

Our job was to curate the best creative writing from the budding minds at our prestigious prep-school. We also published our own stuff. So, did we learn editorial integrity? No. Did we avoid having to go to school-wide weekly chapel? Yes! Did we successfully emulate the Beatles on Abby Road as pretentious teens? I think so! Officially, the Shelly & Doug Fun-o-Meter starts moving up when we went with our dates to the Rocky Horror Picture Show in our prom wear. A strong indicator of fun to come.

Follow the meter up a notch to the 1990s, when Doug and I reunited in the online world of LiveJournal. If you’re old like us, you know that LiveJournal was the online hang-out space before Facebook, even before Myspace. You couldn’t even post pictures there! So, above is my photo from that time, finally in is rightful place online. Yeah, at the low spot in the meter are small increments.

Up the meter again to the 2000s, when Doug hosted me in Chicago for one of the funnest weekends of my life. I was there for the incredible, final shows of the Grateful Dead at Soldier Field, yes. But the sprinkles on that psychedelic sundae include: manic bookshop hoping, drinks at a real tiki bar, posing with Bob Newhart, riding a Ferris wheel over the city, and dancing in front of a live Dead show on a brewery’s big screen. Omnipresent was my worship of a certain Picasso piece, about which Doug showed infinite patience.

(Gratuitous photo Doug took of me with the Picasso.) Which brings us back to the Fun-o-Meter!

Up the meter and across the Atlantic, to where we spent a few glorious days in Brittany with our mutual high-school alumna (and also special bestie) Mary Margaret. Oh, those halcyon days! There’s much I could say about that trip and about my friendship with M2, but that’s a different meter entirely. I’ll stick with saying: Fun Increased.

Notice we’re getting older as the meter rises. Notice we’re still smiling big, as Tracy and I visit Madison three times in five years. Notable moment on the meter here: Doug and I played and sang the best damned Running on Empty that will never be replicated. (You’re welcome on that last part.)

Which leads to the top spot on the meter: a picture immediately after a showing of Doug’s current play in Madison. Get this: we both started the Fun-o-Meter as rookie literary magazine staff members. I grew up to work for small publishing houses and to write for the first time here. Doug never stopped writing. And you can see from my smile that his work is funny.

You, too, can partake, via a livestream of this play on Friday evening (July 18). Here’s the link to Reconstituting.

And yes, this entire post is an excuse to promote Doug’s play. I got carried away with the Fun-o-Meter here, but I mean it about the play: you’ll enjoy it. Dare I say, It’s fun!