HUNTINGTON -- What kind of twisted individual thinks the Marines and divorce are humorous?

Mark Sweeney, that's who.

Sweeney will appear at the Funny Bone Comedy Club and Restaurant at Pullman Square this weekend, poking fun at his military past, his ex- status and any common situation in-between. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday, with an additional 10 p.m. show both Friday and Saturday. Sunday's performance is at 7 p.m. Ticket prices are $12 and $14.

"I talk everyday stuff. I don't write jokes and punch lines. I talk from experience -- being in the Marines for four years, going to Iraq and Afghanistan, being divorced, which I am, and coming from a large family. I was the oldest of six," Sweeney explained. "We all live through this stuff, and it's not always funny when you're going through it, but it's funny to come out and listen to it."

Sweeney's start into the comedy world might also make a funny tale. After leaving college, he went to work in a bar (as he says, "A lot better than working 9 to 5") where one of the managers, who had formerly worked in a comedy club in Detroit, told Sweeney he was a lot funnier than most of the guys he had heard onstage.

"I made a New Year's resolution that year to get on stage and do five minutes," he said. "In my day job, I was selling real estate. So, I do this open mic night in January 1989 and five minutes later, I remember thinking, 'This is what I'm going to do the rest of my life.' I quit my job the next day. I always hated real estate. I told my mom and she was like, 'Good. It's about time.' She was very supportive."

Eventually, Sweeney spent too much time on the road and gave up his bar gig as well. Though he said he didn't think much about getting paid for what he was doing until weeks or months later, he got two months of one-night shows that helped pay his bills.

"Sometimes I don't plan things out very far ahead," he said.

Now Sweeney works at the schedule he wants -- traveling two weeks a month in the summer, four weeks some months and three weeks in others.

His show, he said, is rated "PG" or "PG-13" and while he said he swears occasionally on stage, it's not the norm.

"My dad always said that was the sign of an ignorant man," Sweeney said. "He's 74, and I've never heard him swear once in my whole life."

For more information, visit www.sweeneysan.com or www.wvfunnybone.com.