An Evening with Roseanne Barr

A couple of nights ago we were invited to see Roseanne Barr try out her new stand up routine on some of her neighbors in Honokaa. It was a fund raiser for the "Dental Bus" that goes around the Hamakua Coast servicing providing dental care for children. It was an evening of hilarity and great music with friends.

The event was held at the Old Mac Nut Factory, which is now a studio for artists and has a barn space where concerts and events are held. We are lucky enough to be friends with some of the artists who are located in the space as well as friends that own two vacation cottages in Honokaa. Teri Suggs is an artist that I worked with at the Walnut Creek Clay Arts Guild and who moved to the big island several months before we did.

Roseanne has a radio show on public radio, you can find archives and free pod casts here:
Tipping Point KPFK

Roseanne's boyfriend of 7 years is musician Johnny Argent played with several other musicians in the Old Mac Nut Factory. It turned out to be a perfect venue for the pair, who were able to rock the house with music and rib busting laughter. Speaking of rib busting laughter, my ribs ached the next morning from laughing so hard all night.

The evening was a BYOB potluck and as usual the group at the Mac Nut Factory had lots of good food.

In my research, I learned that Roseanne met Johnny after he posted on a forum on her blog back in 2001 and finally won her over. She fell in love with him before ever seeing him and then was pleasantly surprised in 2002 when they finally met. I think he must be good for her in many ways. For one thing she has gone natural in her hair color and seems to be a little less angry with the world in general. Her comedy is irreverent and occasionally offensive, but it is difficult not to laugh at her views of life,  I especially loved her menopause jokes.

Photo by Sarah Lee

For those of you wondering what kind of  house Roseanne lives in here... I can share this arial view. You can see she is surrounded by plenty of land and enjoys her well deserved privacy. The 46 + acre farm was purchased in 2007. At that time, Roseanne told  Reuters that she had bought a property in Hawaii that grows macadamias, quipping, “I always knew I would end up on a nut farm, and I’m going to.”

And here is the place Roseanne calls home in Hawaii. It is where she gathers her family, enjoys cooking, making her own hot sauce and crackers and other good things.