Humor

So many things to laugh about. Some serious to the max and thus ridiculous and worthy of a guffaw. Other things are stupid things said by serious people who are attempting to draw attention to themselves and some political issue they champion. Many of their utterances are too stupid to make sense, so they make nonsense and create hilarity.

Example: late night talk show hosts have more material to work with from politicians engaged in their campaigns. Fruitful field of laugh gems. A bounteous supply, even.

Spoonerisms were my forte when a young lad. Simply slip the first letter of one word to the first letter of another word, put them together, and do so unintentionally and you have a nearly guaranteed laugh. Beanut Putter and Jam sandwich is an example.

Mixing any words together unintentionally often makes for a chuckle – bodily nudily is one. We know what the person was trying to say but what came out was even better!

Puns are funny, too. I had an uncle-in-law who enjoyed sparring with me with puns. I know our exercises were wearing on the family who could not avoid our antics, but occasionally they broke out in hysterics. We had hit on one that caught them unawares. And that’s what makes puns so funny in the first place. That and the fact they are clever. Or so we think!

Prat falls are funny, too. Although I’ve not understood why because they are so dangerous. The older I get the more sensitive I feel about the injury a fall can cause. Still, when I see someone slip and fall and seemingly disappear from view, I break out in spontaneous laughter. That’s what slap stick humor was all about. I can still hear my father’s hysterical laughter as he watched old clips from Charlie Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy movies.

“What’s Up Doc” was a movie with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal. There were shticks throughout the movie that were slap stick, really. And boy were they funny! I remember laughing so hard and for so long that I actually worked myself into an asthma attack in the theater. That's how funny it was to me at the time!

It’s a good thing there are lots of things to laugh at. I don’t mean being mean, but actually humorous. Laughter releases tensions. It allows us to relax and enjoy ourselves for a while. It is one reason why comedians are able to make us laugh; they build a false tension, or address a known tension, then say something ridiculous about it that saps the seriousness right out of the situation. The result: we laugh. If the comedian’s timing is good, he/she can build on that first laugh and keep the laughter rolling for several minutes. Now that’s a successful gig!

It has been said that laughter is the best medicine. Quite rightly so. A good laugh causes the body to move the diaphragm, suck in air, expel it with force, just to fuel the act of laughing. That lung/muscle movement is healthy, especially for someone who is sick or recovering from an operation. Laughter also brightens the mood and lifts the spirits when they are otherwise down. Again, laughter – humor – comes to the rescue and makes the patient feel better and actually be better.

Tragedy is often fodder for humor. Suffering presents the tension, you see. Humor makes light of it and we laugh at ourselves and our predicament. Such humor takes on major weight as time passes; the tragedy wanes and humor leavens the seriousness. Poking fun at the self helps us put things into perspective. It is not the end of our life, after all. It is just a misstep or a detour. It is temporary. Life goes on. And humor tells us so.

So when we feel low, depressed or sorry for ourselves, consider a chuckle. A Knock-knock joke. A pun. Or an ‘intentional slip’. Get someone near you to laugh and soon you will be laughing yourself. And then the whole room will be on the mend!

September 8, 2015