What Offended a Portland Coworker is Precisely Why I Love David Sedaris

In a story that has gone national, Karen, a sales woman for our sister stations in Portland, took offense to a rather dark joke famed humorist and author David Sedaris made about her dog dying. I think what he did was fantastic.

According to a post on WCYY.com titled My Co-Worker Karen Had a Bad Encounter With Funny Man David Sedaris, here is how the exchange with the noted author went down according to her Facebook page.

I attended the October 21, 2015 show in Portland, Maine. It was my third time seeing him in Portland. (now my last time seeing him) My first time at the book signing table. I was really looking forward to meeting him.

DS: “What’s your name?”
Me: “Karen”
DS: “Do you have children?”
Me: “I have a dog”
DS: “What’s his name?”
Me: “Cosmo”
DS: “How old?”
Me: “He’s 12.”
DS: “Oh, he’ll die soon. Yes, he’s 12, he’ll die soon.”

You're at a book signing and the author takes time to ask you a few questions? That's great right there because usually those things work like an assembly line (he's even written about how he likes to shake up tedious book signings in order to make them more interesting-- check out this story from the New Yorker that can also be found in his book Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls).

He proceeds to draw you a picture that memorializes your dog!? And you're disappointed?! Check this out!

It must be noted, should it not be abundantly clear, that Sedaris has a deeply dark sense of humor. This exchange isn't even a little bit out of character for him; rather, it seems like a real life example of something he'd write about in his book.

It makes me love him even more.