My father and I finished replacing the roof on his house a couple years ago. My brother and I had started the project the year before, and were obliged to stop when it became too cold for the materials we were using to set up correctly. One afternoon, my father and I came in for a watermelon break. He said, "Isn't this great watermelon?" I replied, "I found out that Cal had cancer over watermelon. Thanks for reminding me, you monster!" Cal, my brother, wheeled his chair out of his bedroom and sat down, laughing the whole time. Eventually, my father stopped looking abashed and joined in.
When my brother was first diagnosed, they said it was stage four, but was so widespread they had no idea what type it was. On his first PET scan, he was lit up like a Christmas tree. Three lesions in his brain, at the top of the tree. Two fractured vertebrae, on a spine/tree trunk that remained upright until he was literally too weak to hold himself up any longer. Tumors in clusters through his lungs, liver, adrenal glands and abdomen, growing more numerous the further down you looked at the scan. He couldn't complete the roofing job because his fractured vertebrae put him at risk of paralysis if he lifted more than ten pounds. The biopsy said it was melanoma. There wasn't much that could be done.
On a particular Monday, my brother exchanged jokes with the mechanic who repaired his car. On Friday, he was gone. He maintained his sense of humor until the end.
Laugh at yourself. Laugh with others. Do not laugh at others. Unless the others are management, customers or employees in retail. Retail might the secret Tenth Circle of Hell. What have we done to deserve it?
Dr. Sydney Freedman on M*A*S*H one time described Hawkeye as “anger turned sideways”. Years later, someone used that phrase to describe comedy. Both are true, which is why laughing is the only way to respond to some things.
Two possibly relevant items. In the Star Trek universe, one of the Rules of Acquisition which guide the Ferenghi states “Treat your employees like family - exploit them.” In the Lion in Winter, I believe it’s Henry II finding his wife Eleanor of Acquitaine smiling after one of their repeated clashes and expresses surprise. She responds, “It’s the way I register dispair”.
My junior year in high school I took a speech class. By some strange alchemy, most of the school's clowns and cutups ended up in that class. Every day was a laugh fest, presided over by Mary Ten Pas, short, blonde, and unfailingly cheerful. I can still recall, 61 years later, the group improv portraying the characters at the local grocery store.
Among my classmates was Joe Lambert, widely regarded as the dumbest guy in school. Miss Ten Pas assigned us a humorous speech. OMG! The class went wild. Joe elected to tell of the time he fell into the manure spreader. Unbelievable. It was a perfect funny story, made all the more hilarious considering the source. Of course Joe Lambert fell into the manure spreader! Who else? I don't know how he managed to deliver his speech for all the loud laughter and associated hoo hah. In a room full of talented and inspired jokesters, Joe won the prize.
There's a scene in the movie Sometimes a Great Notion. If you've seen the movie you know where I'm going. It's about a family of loggers in the Pacific Northwest. Two cousins are floating logs down a river. One gets trapped under a log in shallow water. His cousin tries to free him, without success. The log rolls, pulling him under water. His cousin tries to use mouth to mouth to give him air. The cousin under water finds the situation funny, laughs and drowns.
That would be me.
The scene is on YouTube but I don't have the heart to post the link. It's a tough scene.
Dear god, I saw that scene as a child. You unearthed an ancient memory. My older sister must’ve been watching it and it’s the type of scene that never really leaves you.
I already get yelled at for "making faces" (having an expression without hiding it), if I add random laughter, it's gonna be a thing. Anti-social? Me? Depends on the humans involved. Cats now... I am never anti-social with cats. They demand adoration, and I provide it. And they only smack you a little for laughing at them.
I have been told that I have a very impertinent sense of humor. I think it is much more noir than that. One friend told me after I mentioned a couple of relatives perished on the Titanic (ahh, family history) that I would have been on the main deck telling jokes.
My opening joke after swirling my G&T - “huh, huuuh, Can anyone find some Ice for my drink? Anyone?”
You should search for and watch the Mary Tyler Moore show episode “Chuckles Bites the Dust”. It is one of the best comedy episodes in TV History, and is very similar to your response about the man in the “fertilizer”!
I was watching the entire run of Mary Tyler Moore as I worked because I’ve always been told it’s one of the greatest comedies of all time. Then whatever streaming platform I was using got rid of it.
I have a revolutionary idea. Old shows could be broadcast over the air in the form of radio wave transmissions. Shows like Mary Tyler Moore could be shown in rerun form at odd hours of the day in major markets throughout the country. They could still make a profit by showing commercials, same as these streaming platforms, but this way we could depend on them reliably airing at a certain time of the day.
I think this new idea will catch on if we give it a chance.
You make me laugh quite often. And yes the manure story was sort of funny. Of course not for those involved. The only question is: did it involve some rotary equipment?
My father and I finished replacing the roof on his house a couple years ago. My brother and I had started the project the year before, and were obliged to stop when it became too cold for the materials we were using to set up correctly. One afternoon, my father and I came in for a watermelon break. He said, "Isn't this great watermelon?" I replied, "I found out that Cal had cancer over watermelon. Thanks for reminding me, you monster!" Cal, my brother, wheeled his chair out of his bedroom and sat down, laughing the whole time. Eventually, my father stopped looking abashed and joined in.
When my brother was first diagnosed, they said it was stage four, but was so widespread they had no idea what type it was. On his first PET scan, he was lit up like a Christmas tree. Three lesions in his brain, at the top of the tree. Two fractured vertebrae, on a spine/tree trunk that remained upright until he was literally too weak to hold himself up any longer. Tumors in clusters through his lungs, liver, adrenal glands and abdomen, growing more numerous the further down you looked at the scan. He couldn't complete the roofing job because his fractured vertebrae put him at risk of paralysis if he lifted more than ten pounds. The biopsy said it was melanoma. There wasn't much that could be done.
On a particular Monday, my brother exchanged jokes with the mechanic who repaired his car. On Friday, he was gone. He maintained his sense of humor until the end.
Laugh at yourself. Laugh with others. Do not laugh at others. Unless the others are management, customers or employees in retail. Retail might the secret Tenth Circle of Hell. What have we done to deserve it?
Dr. Sydney Freedman on M*A*S*H one time described Hawkeye as “anger turned sideways”. Years later, someone used that phrase to describe comedy. Both are true, which is why laughing is the only way to respond to some things.
He also advised in especially dire circumstances that you “drop your pants and slide on the ice!” - advice I’ve kept to heart ever since.
Two possibly relevant items. In the Star Trek universe, one of the Rules of Acquisition which guide the Ferenghi states “Treat your employees like family - exploit them.” In the Lion in Winter, I believe it’s Henry II finding his wife Eleanor of Acquitaine smiling after one of their repeated clashes and expresses surprise. She responds, “It’s the way I register dispair”.
I just love the connection you made between Star Trek and Lion In Winter. Both are so very different yet equally wonderful.
If you're going to take this life seriously, I have some bad news for you...
My junior year in high school I took a speech class. By some strange alchemy, most of the school's clowns and cutups ended up in that class. Every day was a laugh fest, presided over by Mary Ten Pas, short, blonde, and unfailingly cheerful. I can still recall, 61 years later, the group improv portraying the characters at the local grocery store.
Among my classmates was Joe Lambert, widely regarded as the dumbest guy in school. Miss Ten Pas assigned us a humorous speech. OMG! The class went wild. Joe elected to tell of the time he fell into the manure spreader. Unbelievable. It was a perfect funny story, made all the more hilarious considering the source. Of course Joe Lambert fell into the manure spreader! Who else? I don't know how he managed to deliver his speech for all the loud laughter and associated hoo hah. In a room full of talented and inspired jokesters, Joe won the prize.
Those are some great memories. Characters like that make life worth living. I got an A in speech class, despite my reputation as a solid C student.
"I went back too far." OMG I'm on the floor. That one really got me. 😆🥰
There's a scene in the movie Sometimes a Great Notion. If you've seen the movie you know where I'm going. It's about a family of loggers in the Pacific Northwest. Two cousins are floating logs down a river. One gets trapped under a log in shallow water. His cousin tries to free him, without success. The log rolls, pulling him under water. His cousin tries to use mouth to mouth to give him air. The cousin under water finds the situation funny, laughs and drowns.
That would be me.
The scene is on YouTube but I don't have the heart to post the link. It's a tough scene.
Dear god, I saw that scene as a child. You unearthed an ancient memory. My older sister must’ve been watching it and it’s the type of scene that never really leaves you.
Yeah, life’s a lot like that.
I already get yelled at for "making faces" (having an expression without hiding it), if I add random laughter, it's gonna be a thing. Anti-social? Me? Depends on the humans involved. Cats now... I am never anti-social with cats. They demand adoration, and I provide it. And they only smack you a little for laughing at them.
NEVER stop laughing!
I have been told that I have a very impertinent sense of humor. I think it is much more noir than that. One friend told me after I mentioned a couple of relatives perished on the Titanic (ahh, family history) that I would have been on the main deck telling jokes.
My opening joke after swirling my G&T - “huh, huuuh, Can anyone find some Ice for my drink? Anyone?”
People who know me aren’t polite enough to use the world impertinent.
Impertinent is a cleaned up description. The words Crazy, sick and seriously twisted have been thrown around enough times.
Oh, good. Those are the ones I’m used to.
I used to laugh at everything, and I desperately need to get back into the habit. Thank you for the reminder!
Finding your way back to the funny is definitely a task worth doing. Besides, everything is so silly. It deserves to be laughed at.
You should search for and watch the Mary Tyler Moore show episode “Chuckles Bites the Dust”. It is one of the best comedy episodes in TV History, and is very similar to your response about the man in the “fertilizer”!
I was watching the entire run of Mary Tyler Moore as I worked because I’ve always been told it’s one of the greatest comedies of all time. Then whatever streaming platform I was using got rid of it.
I have a revolutionary idea. Old shows could be broadcast over the air in the form of radio wave transmissions. Shows like Mary Tyler Moore could be shown in rerun form at odd hours of the day in major markets throughout the country. They could still make a profit by showing commercials, same as these streaming platforms, but this way we could depend on them reliably airing at a certain time of the day.
I think this new idea will catch on if we give it a chance.
Thank you! Helped me laugh on a stressful morning
That’s what I strive for.
I grab all the punchlines I can find. If you miss any, they're apt to beat you up.
You make me laugh quite often. And yes the manure story was sort of funny. Of course not for those involved. The only question is: did it involve some rotary equipment?
It only involved manure.
Something missing then :-) But some things are of course only funny from a distance.
Just don't separate a rib.