Richard Downing

   – circa 1950s, circa 2020s   THE PAUSE “Women. You can’t live with ’em … ” and pause, wait, hold it, little bit longer … aaaaand … that’s it. End of joke. Buddy Sego was big. Bigger than his namesake, Buddy Hackett. Bigger than Jackie Mason (and less Jewy, people would say, just not

                                                                                              — Columbus, Mississippi,1973     For a long time now she has referred to herself in the third person, almost as if she were being interviewed by Barbara Walters. Except that she will never be interviewed by Barbara Walters, because she – not Barbara – pumps gas for a living. And because she –