Why? Because here’s what happened at our local TV station when I was interviewed about “Susan Sarandon: A True Maverick” and about my book signing (scheduled at Pueblo’s Cinemark Tinseltown on Oct. 23).

About one minute before the interview, my earplug popped out, so I had trouble hearing the questions from the TV anchorman. But I winged it as best I could until I saw a crew member waving wildly at me and discovered I wasn’t facing the camera. Slowly I turned, smiled sheepishly – and somehow finished the interview. When I tried to leave, I got tangled in the wiring, tripped and uttered an obscenity. The whole thing was like a Carol Burnett comedy sketch.

To make things worse, I had searched the Internet for tips about TV make-up and spent the entire previous day shopping for all the gunk suggested. Did it work? Only if I’d been going for a ghostly look to celebrate Halloween.

On the plus side, the TV people did a great job of organizing visuals for my segment – clips of Sarandon in SHALL WE DANCE, a photo of my book, information about the book signing and so forth.

When the program concluded, the very nice anchorman walked over to me and said, “We ought to have you on more often.”

Now there’s a guy who really deserves an Oscar.

(Photo by Bryan Kelsen for The Pueblo Chieftain.)