Paula Poundstone talks to the TNT about touring, cats and raising worms during lockdown
Paula Poundstone, stand-up comedian, author and frequent panelist on “Wait Wait ... Don’t Tell Me!” on National Public Radio, is back in front of audiences again.
And it’s about time. Her act involves a lot of audience interaction. That’s hard to do with a podcast, videos and other avenues she used to stay creative the past two years. But, she says, in many ways she was a natural for the solitude of lockdown.
“I’ve been a comic for 42 years now,” Poundstone said during a phone interview in January. “A lot of my life has been spent in an airplane, in an airport, in a hotel alone. Being alone isn’t really new to me. It’s just sort of how I function. The only difference is I’m tripping over pets everywhere I go here in the house. My life was custom-made for a stay-at-home order.”
Poundstone returns to Tacoma Feb. 18 for a performance at the Pantages Theater.
During her hiatus, Poundstone went from touring to working on her podcast, “Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone” and, she says, took up worm farming.
The News Tribune spoke with Poundstone from her Santa Monica, California, home.
Question: How did it feel to get back performing live again last summer, however briefly?
Answer: I was so glad to get back. I started last June, and it was just great. And then, of course, it came to a screeching halt again. Thank you, anti-vaxxers.
Q: You’re famous for being a cat lady. How many do you currently have?
A: I have 10.
Q: Oh, you’re down?
A: My daughter was visiting me one day and we had eight (cats), and she said, “Mom, it’s like you don’t have any.” And so, I got two kittens, who, by the way are now 10 months old.
Q: I heard that you are raising worms?
A: I have worms in my compost. Sometimes they disappear for a while and then they show back up again. I don’t know why. This is where you are specifically using the worms to break the food down. And it’s a business in that the worm waste, which is castings, is useful in gardening, and so you can sell it. I now have four bins, probably about 4,000 worms. I’ve tried to count, but it’s very hard. I sell the worm waste. My assistant told me I’ve made $1.
Q: I saw on Twitter where you are naming them?
A: I have a new new thing I called ‘The How The Heck Did She Do It?’ package, which is, for $30, I will make a personalized video to the buyer about some part of the worm-farming process. And I will name a worm after them.
Q: Worm castings and scooping out cat boxes. Sounds very glamorous.
A: Yeah. My son was mad at me the other day because he called and I didn’t answer the phone. And I’m like, OK, my hands are covered with worm poop. I’m not answering the phone while I’m harvesting.
Q: Many people know you from ‘Wait, Wait’. Have you been recording that in person again?
A: We did last summer, in either June or July. I was on the show. And in person. Maybe they will or won’t be (in person) soon. I don’t know. But, I can tell you that tomorrow, I’ll be sitting in a chair on my treadmill. That’s where I tape from.
Q: Do you ever use the treadmill for exercise?
A: I haven’t turned this treadmill on, and I don’t know want my dogs to walk on it. You see these videos on YouTube? You know, how easy it is to train your dog to walk on a treadmill? They haven’t met my dogs. My dog Mo is afraid of any kind of decorations. I was trying to get her to go in a card store the other day. And we’d walked like 30 minutes to get there. We’ve been in it before. No way was this dog going in that store, and I think it’s because there was a big heart in the window. I finally did get her to go in. But, it took easily 15 minutes. And people were walking by, they would stop for a few seconds to watch and laugh.
Q: Dogs aside, what’s some of the weirder human behavior you’ve seen with the pandemic.
A: I worked in Florida in the summer. I had a car service. The first driver picks me up at the airport. And he says to me, ‘Do you need me to wear this mask?’ I was irked but I was double masked. I said, ‘Do whatever you want.’ And he takes the mask off. And he says, ‘Because, you know, we’re kind of spoiled here in Florida.’ Because they had this irresponsible governor. And I said, ‘Sir, you have dead people.’ It’s like, if you’re a kid, you go to somebody’s house and they say, ‘Well, my mom lets us play in the middle of the street.’ OK, but, can you see? You didn’t used to be an only child. Can you see that that’s not good?
PAULA POUNDSTONE
When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18
Where: Pantages Theater, 310 S. 9th St., Tacoma
Tickets: $22-$65
Information: tacomaartslive.org
