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Ron James tries to lighten humanity’s load through humour

The comedian returns to Red Deer for shows Dec. 1 and 2
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Donald Trump’s in the White House picking fights with North Korea: “Just my luck, the world’s going to end just as the Leafs are getting good again,” quips Ron James.

The Canadian comedian and huge Toronto Maples Leafs fan is heading out west on his Full Throttle Tour. James believes there’s never been a more necessary time to give people something to laugh about.

If life’s looking darker, he sees it as his duty to bring some brightness back into the picture. “I like to think that folks will leave my shows feeling a little lighter than when they came in.”

James will make his motor-mouthed observations about life on Dec. 1 and 2 at Red Deer’s Memorial Centre. The comedian can hardly wait, saying Red Deer has earned a special place in his heart for giving him a run of six sold-out shows more than a decade ago.

Local fans can get ready for his anti-Trump rants, his complaints about the “clicks and clacks in my knees when I get up in the morning,” and his wry takes on mid-life dating — something he’s become all too familiar with, since his wife left him nine years ago.

There are also James’s reminiscences of his dad and the last generation of great outdoors men, who left him with life-long appreciation of hunting and show-shoe-ing adventures.

Although the Cape Breton-native who now resides in Toronto, misses his late father, he still tries to go into the woods whenever possible for winter camping — “I can’t wait for the snow to fall!”

This New Year’s Eve at 9 p.m. on CBC, Canadians can watch James’s new televised special, The High Road. No, it’s not about the government legalizing marijuana, said James, who’s clearly been asked this question a lot.

He explained the title references Canada trying to do the right thing in the world— “unlike the U.S., which is defiantly marching to the wrong side of history.”

Although James likes political humour and “debunking sacred cows,” he also likes making everyday-life observations, such as: “More is not enough for everybody.”

“I did it too, I wanted a bigger house… But when I think back, the happiest time in my life is when the kids were little and we would pack a picnic lunch and eat it under a tree,” James recalled. “I had 28 bucks in the bank and I was happy.”

For tickets to his show, call the Black Knight Ticket Centre.



lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

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