NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The stage. The lights. The crowds. Some people feel right at home in all of it, working as comedians. For the guy playing Zanies Tuesday night, the jokes are all part of a powerful mission: he's a man out to inspire and make you laugh.
The life of a comedian is a life on the road. For Bobby Henline, constant travel is just a part of the mission.
"To me, the more you get on stage, the more you talk, the more you interact, the better you get at it," Henline said. "Comedy helps people too. If I can make people laugh and they see me on stage like this, how many people can I help that have a disfigurement?"
Bobby first enlisted in the Army in 1989, a veteran of Desert Storm. He re-enlisted after 9/11.
"I knew I couldn't let that happen to my country and not serve," said Henline. "Did three more tours of Iraq, and in 2007 is when my Humvee got hit by a roadside bomb, killing the other men in the Humvee, leaving me the sole survivor. Doctors said medically, I shouldn't be alive. They don't understand how I lived through this. My head was burnt to the skull. I lost my left hand. I've had 48 skin grafts to today."
Henline got through all those treatments by maintaining his sense of humor. That's when his occupational therapist told him maybe he should try stand-up comedy.
"It felt good just to talk about it and get it out," he said. "I thought, 'alright, if I can do comedy, share my story that way, I can help somebody else maybe.'"
When Henline greets his audience, he's tearing down those walls.
"I definitely love it more than anything I ever expected," he smiled.
Henline's in town for a show at Zanies, raising money for Forging Forward: The Bobby Henline Foundation. It takes veterans and first responders to retreats to find their outlet just like Henline found comedy.
"We gotta keep busy with these new missions in life," said Henline. "These guys and gals are having trouble finding that mission."
All around the Zanies building are the pictures of comedians: the trailblazers, the storytellers. Henline respects so many forms of comedy, but in sharing his story, he brings something else to the stage.
"I call it inspirational comedy," he said. "When I found out how many people I could help out by continuing to be me, continue to chase my dreams as a human being after what I've been through, I could help people live life through a different perspective. I believe God kept me around for a reason, and he's given me the strength and courage to do this. I'm blessed to do what I do today for sure."
Bobby Henline's show started at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. A generous donor bought 100 tickets, so some audience members can get in for free.
For a link to tickets, visit here. For more on Forging Forward: The Bobby Henline Foundation, visit here.
