O'Brien's story is about a middle-class Irish undertaker who can't take it seriously when his son wants to enter a writing contest for a college scholarship because it is understood that he will work at Leigh Herlihy and Son Funeral Home. As O'Brien described the situation: "Leith felt numb at first. What his father had said (about Herlihy and Son) didn't shock him, simply the fact that it had finally been said. Without looking at his parents, Leith knew how to focus on his grandmother. She alone had the power to change it all, she alone had witnessed it twice before. Better than anyone else, Grandmother Herlihy knew the cycle. After a long pause, she looked into Leith's eyes and nodded her head.

"Leith, sick with frustration, felt the smallness of the room. He stood up and kicked his chair from under him. Without looking at anyone, he ran from the table and up the stairs leading to his room. The door slammed and the entire house shook with the force. As the china in the cabinet rattled, Grandmother Herlihy thought back to a similar scene 30 years before."

The story ends with the boy crumpling up the contest application and dropping it into the wastebasket.

Find

Hmm, coincidentally I'm watching the most recent episode of Conan right now. I'm convinced he's the funniest guy in the world, and one of the most amazing people currently alive. When he was in school, he worked really hard and got amazing grades and managed to get into Harvard, where he quickly wormed his way into the on-campus comedy scene. The friendships and professional connections he made there led to jobs on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, where he was basically performing around the clock for anyone who would listen, whether it was his fellow writers or the janitors. On the Simpsons, he wrote some of the most beloved episodes of all time, like the monorail episode and Homer Goes to College. At the same time, he did improv at the Groundlings to work on his skill as a performer. When Letterman moved stations, Lorne Michaels apparently remembered him from his time at SNL and offered him the job as Letterman's replacement. Conan accepted, and, although he was incredibly nervous and uncomfortable for the first year and a half, he eventually turned it around and became one of the funniest people on TV. If I could turn back the clock fifteen years and live my life all over again, he's the guy who I'd pattern my life on.

>>7587550
Yes. But now I want to read the short story he wrote. It has been impossible to find but I did only spend around fifteen minutes.

>>7587556
And*
Selfish bump

>>7587550
You should watch that doco on his post today show tour. He is the biggest psycho asshole I've ever seen.

>>7587949
I did watch that doc and I respectfully disagree. I feel like the filmmakers were using Dont Look Back as their inspiration, where they're showing a flawed character who is nonetheless an incredible talent who brings a great deal of joy into the lives on many. Personally, I don't think I would enjoy being picked on by Conan the way that his staff were in that movie, and he's obviously very needy and exploiting his power so that he can always be the center of attention, but to me that's like Hendrix never putting down the guitar: it's part of what makes him the incredible performer that he is. If anything, I walked away from the documentary liking him more than I did before, which is the same reaction I had to Dont Look Back actually.

>>7587969
You'd make a great loyal fascist
>jump
>how high, sir?

>>7587978
Everybody's got to have something to reach for, Anon. Sounds like you just look up to different people than I do.

>>7587978
>uh oh someone disagrees with me better put them in their place!

who's the fascist?