Truth is Stranger than Fiction

This really happened at today's Pirates of Penzance performance.

At the end of Intermission I called places, ran down my tech crew, and got the raffle tickets from the lobby. We were having the drawing then. For a joke I palmed a stub from one of the tickets I had bought. Since I wasn't going to draw a ticket, I figured it was OK to buy some. I didn't want to win, of course. I walked on stage and called for attention.

"I'd like to do the raffle now," I said and spread my arms wide, revealing the palmed ticket in my left hand. "Oh, look, it's a ticket," I said. "Now how did that get there?" I got the laughs I expected. "I'll just put it here..." and put it in my pocket. "OK. I'll have Bob do the drawing." I passed the tickets to Bob, saying, "Make sure to pick the one I showed you." He said, "I want the one in your pocket."

They passed the ticket back to me. I looked. I read. The name was 'Jon Loux.' I stared. I said, "I don't believe it." I looked up and said, "It's me! Really! My name is on the ticket!"

I couldn't keep it, of course. I tore up the ticket, threw it over my shoulder and said, "I never could read my own writing," and asked Bob to pick another one. While they did, I said, "That really was my name. I'm not joking. I had thought of doing that as a joke, but never expected it to happen for real."

But it had. The ticket handed to me really was mine. It really had my name on it, having bought three tickets for five dollars earlier that day. Of all the rotten luck to have such good luck. 

I've come to the conclusion that life is theater. Bravo!