In a day and age where every comic seems to have his or her own show on network television, Des Moines’ own Willie Farrell has a show of his own. It’s called “The Waiting Game.” What’s he waiting for? Two things; a new addition to his family and his stand-up comic gig at Johnny Orr’s Sports Bar and Grill this Sunday.

“My wife’s due any minute,” Farrell said. “It’s a baby, that’s all the information they’ve given us.”

Which is fine for Farrell, since that’s where most of his material comes from, real life. “That’s where comedy comes from; you just live it,” Farrell said. “I’ve got a bunch of stuff on Lamaze. They show movies, basically the same movies they show at driving classes. A lot of blood, screaming and then they pull out a body.”

Paints a beautiful picture in the mind, doesn’t it? Well, that’s his job, painting pictures and telling jokes, and he’s been doing it for over 10 years. “I was born a small black boy; I’ve come a long way,” Farrell laughed.

It all started when his friends convinced him to go to amateur night. “I wanted to back out, but my friends had paid a cover, and I didn’t have any money,” Farrell said. And we can thank the comic gods the show went over well.

Things started looking up for Farrell, so he did what any major star does: he moved to Los Angeles. “I went out to L.A. and hated it,” Farrell said. “If anyone wanted me to do a show out there now, I’d have serious thoughts.

“There’s a lot of traffic and fear. There’s two things I don’t like: traffic and people putting guns in your face. In L.A. it just sucks.”

So, Farrell packed up and headed back to the safe haven of home – Iowa. “This is nice weather,” Farrell said. “Even tornadoes are nice; you can hide from them. You can’t hide from earthquakes, unless you can jump in the air for 15 minutes.”

And by staying in Iowa, Farrell doesn’t feel he’s hurt himself material-wise. “It’s easier for me to write it,” Farrell said. “How about Eric Branstad? That’s about 20 minutes worth of material right there.

“I’ve actually carved a living out of living in the Midwest; I’ve been pretty fortunate. Plus the fact that I don’t have any other marketable skills, besides leaning on a shovel.”

And now you can help support this soon-to-be dad, by coming out to the show and catching his act. Opening up for Farrell is Craig Peters, who Farrell says is his oldest friend in comedy.

Farrell and Peters met in Kansas City around 1985 and after one of Peters’ gigs, Farrell went up and introduced himself.

“This is a true story. Peters was outside staring into space and I could tell something was wrong. He said he had just broke up with his girlfriend, so I said, in a very heterosexual way, ‘You’re a good lookin’ guy, you don’t have anything to worry about’,” Farrel said. “While I’m talking to him this beautiful girl was walking up the street and I said, ‘Now there’s a girl that you should pick up.’ He said, ‘That’s my old girlfriend.’ I said ‘You might as well kill yourself right now because you’re never going to do better than that.

“He looked at me and then busted out laughing.”

Catch Farrell and Peters at Johnny Orr’s Sports Bar and Grill Sunday at 8 p.m. Cost is $5. For reservations, call 233-0244.