People who wear glasses must be excited for next year. It’s the first time they’ll see 2020.
Did that make you chuckle, even a little bit? Humor is a funny thing, both literally and figuratively. Most of us probably have a well-developed sense of humor, and while many people are funny, some of us are just funny looking. In my case, I like to say I have a face made for radio.
Ole and Lena were driving to Minneapolis. Ole put his hand on Lena’s leg. She looked at him and said, “Ole, you can go farther.” So he went to Duluth.
At least a smile for that one? For our teacher in-service, we had a keynote speaker self-titled Dr. Humor. He heads up the National Association for the Humor Impaired and travels around to help groups understand the importance of laughing. Sometimes it’s recognizing that something is truly funny and other times seeing the humor in an otherwise difficult situation.
My wife asked me if I knew what her favorite flower was. Apparently, Gold Medal All Purpose was not the correct response.
Fake news, for sure, but funny! Think about your favorite television shows. How many are sitcoms? If a day goes by that I don’t quote something from Seinfeld, it’s an unusual day. Quite often, something from Friends, The Office, or Cheers will pop up as well. Other shows like Everybody Loves Raymond, Modern Family, and Frasier will live as classic comedy. Maybe not as classic as Abbott and Costello or the Three Stooges, the purveyors of comedy long before my time. Still, the “Who’s on First” skit will make me laugh out loud every time.
A weasel walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Wow, I’ve never served a weasel before. What can I get you?” “Pop,” goes the weasel.
And then there are stand-up comedians. These are people that stand up in front of a crowd of strangers and try to make them laugh. You might think you’re funny, and your friends and family might say that as well, but could you be funny for even 15 minutes straight? I’ve been watching Jim Gaffigan over the last couple of years; he does a lot of food jokes, but he is a very funny man. Brian Regan is one of the few clean comedians left, allowing you to watch him with your family. I grew up on Eddie Murphy and Sam Kinnison and Rodney Dangerfield, definitely not PG with their routines.
I just got over my addiction to chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts. I won’t lie, it was a Rocky Road.
Sometimes I think the funniest things are unscripted. A number of years ago, we had a teacher meeting in the band room in Ellendale. One of my peers was sitting back by the drum set, and when the speaker said something that she thought was funny and it didn’t get the desired response, that teacher grabbed the sticks and did a rim shot. Then there was laughter. Another time, a presenter was struggling with getting her technology to work correctly and another teacher quickly pulled up the fail sound from the game show The Price is Right. The laughing helped cover until the presenter could get her act together.
Apparently, you can’t use “Beef Stew” as a password. It’s not stroganoff.
You might have to say that one out loud. When was the last time you heard something so funny that you couldn’t wait to tell someone? Hopefully, within the last few days! Laughing can be beneficial to our health, and the longer and louder you laugh adds to the benefits. Dr. Humor had us do some laughing exercises, and I can guarantee you’ve never seen some of the NRHEG staff as we were that day, filling our space with laughter that started as forced, but ended up being genuine.
Dear Algebra, please stop asking us to find your X. She’s never coming back and don’t ask Y.
Do we need humor in the classroom? Of course. It can’t be nose to the grindstone all day, every day. Many years ago, I said something that I thought was uproariously funny… and got nothing from my class. I snarked that maybe I needed a Laugh sign like they use to let the audience know when they should do so during a television show. A few days later, a student handed me a handmade sign that read Laugh. I still use it! I tell the kids that one of my goals for them is to know when I’m being funny. Most of them know when I’m trying, even if they don’t find it funny.
There are a few criminals in my town that keep stealing wheels from parked police cars. The cops are working tirelessly to catch the suspects.
A groaner, I know. But even if we don’t LOL or ROFL (How many times do you actually roll on the floor laughing?), we might at least smirk a bit. The toughest is a situation where someone thinks they’re funny and we find absolutely no humor in what they said or did. Have you ever fake-laughed? Sure, we probably all have, especially if everyone else around us is laughing! We’ve all said things that others didn’t find funny, and we’ve also probably done things we didn’t find humorous, though others did. After all, isn’t that what America’s Funniest Home Videos was predicated on?
Why aren’t chickens allowed in church? Because they only use fowl language!
Hopefully, you haven’t found any reason to swear as you read this week’s column! May laughter fill your life!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is tremellose, which means shaking like jelly, as in, “After watching the comedian, I found that I was tremellose and even crying from laughing so much.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!