Let’s talk about stamps through the longest possible microphone

Back in the 1970s, genial Match Game host Gene Rayburn became famous for having the longest microphone in the business, an ungainly, antenna-like apparatus that he sometimes wielded like a broadsword. But even Rayburn had nothing on Luke Mones of the four-person Skootch Comedy troupe. Occasionally, Skootch dispatches Mones to public places, where he attempts to interview unsuspecting citizens via a boom mic. Yes, that’s a microphone at the end of a pole several feet in length. Generally, Mones stands a good distance away from his interview subjects and then waves the microphone in their direction somewhat haphazardly. How well does this technique work? Not well at all, and that’s the whole point. If Rayburn’s microphone was a broadsword, Mones’ is a spear. Though the young comedian’s demeanor is always friendly and upbeat, the would-be interviewees are wary of the boom mic and generally give brief, hurried answers to Mones’ questions. Mones tried out his “Boompole Guy” routine at the recently concluded World Stamp Show in New York City.