Expensive Funny

I really appreciated the laid back and classy way the Grammy's came together last night. And any time you can use "classy" in describing something that included a really good performance of southern rock with Lynyrd Skynyrd, that's saying something. We caught some of the red carpet interviews and most of the actual shows. I was blown away by the mix of songs in the opening number, by the duet of Jamie Foxx & Alicia Keys, by U2 - even Green Day was cool. It was all just a really nice evening.

But then there was this one thing that was so wrong, and yet so telling of where some people are in their lives. I'm not a huge Kathy Griffin fan, but I give her some props for sarcasm and generally quick wit. She's just not the best person to be handling the red carpet, and that was most apparent when Steven Curtis Chapman came up. Chapman has won his share of Grammy awards and other honors, but I'm not sure if Griffin knew who he was or not. The conversation started off amicably, but then she just blurts out, "And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop staring at my rack". Ever the gentleman, Chapman replied, "Excuse me? I wasn't aware that I was", a little sheepish but very much not taking the bait. Her hand-gestures - "eye to eye, ok?" were played for comic relief, and I'm sure she thought the whole thing was funny. Whatever moment might've been building was lost and SCC walked away smiling and probably a bit embarrassed - more for her than himself, maybe.

There's "funny" and then there's "funny but not worth it". Funny is too expensive when someone else is hurt or embarrassed or trapped. While it might play in some venues, it just didn't seem appropriate during a night that was really above that kind of thing, at least for this one night. I thought Chapman handled it well, and that if Kathy knew who she was speaking to she'd probably still do what she did, but it might've played out a little differently. I hope she got her laughs, and somehow looks back and finds something else in that whole exchange - how Chapman treated her like a lady, how maybe she wasn't expecting it in the midst of all the glam and glitz.

Anyway - nice evening. Time to work, chillin' out to U2, "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own".