‘Parks and Recreation’ star shares favorite improvised joke from the series

Nick Offerman had more than a few Ron Swanson fans in attendance at FNB Field in Harrisburg on Oct. 15, for the opening night of the Harrisburg Book Festival.

“By applause, how many of you are familiar with Parks and Recreation?” he asked during his appearance with co-author Lee Buchanan to promote their new book, “Little Woodchucks.”

Offerman began an anecdote from the sitcom, in which he played laconic libertarian Ron Swanson: a man known for loving meat, whiskey, and working with his hands, much like Offerman himself.

“I would eat steak, and they would give me money,” Offerman said of his “Parks & Rec” gig. “And then when I was done eating steak, I could go make a sandwich if I wanted to. It was a really good job.”

During a bit of a technical snafu, Offerman padded for time.

“Let me back up, I’ve lost my place,” he said. “By applause, how many of you are familiar with Parks and Recreation? And who was your favorite character with a mustache?”

Amidst audience laughter, someone seated behind me yelled out “Duke Silver!” which is also correct.

Offerman began to play a beloved song from the series, before saying “all of you filming right now, I’m sorry: I’m not gonna make it all the way through Lil Sebastian.”

But to the crowd’s delight, he did return to the song and sing “5000 Candles In The Wind,” by legendary Pawnee, Indiana rock group Mouse Rat.

And during an audience Q&A session, Offerman and Buchanan were asked if any of the jokes on “Parks & Rec” were ad-libbed.

“Do you want to take this one?” Offerman asked Buchanan.

After she declined, he said “I have to start this answer by saying we had the smartest writers. We never had to make anything up, because we had the best writers who ever wrote any show in the history of Western civilization. And that is an objective opinion.”

However, Offerman said that after they’d gotten their shots as needed, they were often allowed to improvise.

“We were always making stuff up,” he said. “I made up lots of things. My favorite thing that I ever made up, was we were at Donna’s lake house. I had a pallet or two of eggs. I was holding like four dozen eggs or more. She came in, looked at me like I was crazy, and said, ‘what are you making?’”

“And I said, ‘eggs.’” Offerman concluded. He then added, “Heheheh.”

Offerman answered several other questions, including:

If you had to eat wood to survive, what wood would you choose? “Unfortunately, I think you would die. If you had to eat wood to survive, I have some bad news for you.” He finally settled on balsa or basswood, as “Those are the only ones you could actually chew, without tearing up your gums.”

What is the fanciest wood? After deferring to Buchanan, the two suggested it depended on the definition of fancy and where you were sourcing the wood from.

“And around here it might be a maple burl, that’s pretty fancy wood,” Offerman said. “But then there’s wood like black and white ebony, that’s pretty fancy. Or Carpathian elm burl.”

With a giggle, Offerman celebrated besting the question, saying “I guess I pulled Carpathian elm out of my pocket.”

What’s one project from the new book that you think anyone could try, even with no experience? Again, Offerman deferred.

“I’m going to give this question to Lee, because I actually haven’t read the new book,” he said.

“Well, you should do that on our next flight,” Buchanan said, before suggesting toast tongs.

What is the key to pushing through with a hobby when you feel like giving up? Buchanan touted the opportunity to enjoy a challenge, as well as taking time to step away and reach out to a friend for advice.

Offerman agreed, before adding “that’s the thing about this fast-paced corporate life. The world is telling us to go faster and faster.” Giving yourself that time to step away and go for a walk is vital, he said.

“Me, I eat a great deal of sugar, and put on some Kool & the Gang, and I feel better for a time,” he added. “Then I fall down and become unconscious. And in my dreams I often come up with a solution.”