Humor is a Funny Thing

Humor, is a funny thing. A profound way to start this, isn't it? Right up there with "the medium is the message", I am sure that Marshall McLuhan would be proud. What I mean, is that humor is so many things to so many people. There are so many strata when you try to gauge humor; there are jokes that I hear that slay me, but leave other people in a dead stare. You may likewise find someone laughing hysterically at something you find not very funny at all.

I once told my wife a joke that I found incredibly funny, I asked her, "How many flies does it take to screw in a light bulb?" I gave her the punch-line and she stared at me with those vacant eyes that any joke teller fears. It's at moments like this that a humorist might decide to hang up the jokes, like an aging gun-fighter. A few hours after I told her the joke she clicked into the "fly" punch-line, finally understanding and truly found it funny.

When my kids were little and during the lulls of intellectual discussions about the origins of the atom and the philosophy of life, we would often delve into moments of silliness and humor. The kids range in a closely configured age, but what the oldest found funny was a little different from what the youngest found funny. Catherine, the youngest, had great fun saying to me,

"Knock, knock." (Followed by the required -)
"Who's There?" (Now the funny part -)
"Snot"
"Snot who?" (Followed by gales of laughter as she heard her Daddy say a gross word).

Stephanie being a little older had a little more evolved sense of humor.

"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Rat lips"
"Rat lips who?"
"Rat-lips-don't-you-think-its-funny"
(Again peels of laughter)

With the oldest John, the jokes never ceased and even today his humor has survived a pounding from 4 years of Engineering. When he was young I showed him one of the oldest, most time honored jokes in the history of the civilized world. I pointed to a spot on his shirt and said, "What's that?" He innocently looked down and I expertly flicked his nose with my fingertip. It was like I told him the secret of the Caramilk bar. This became his mantra. However, the first time he tried it with his sister, when it came time to expertly flick his finger up, he buried both fingers into Stephanie's nose as she looked down. This actually caused a lot more laughter than the original joke would have. He has been trying to relive that moment ever since.

I always tried to foster and nurture a wild and wacky household. Humor or at least my interpretation of it, has been a part of my life and by extension my family’s. Many years ago at my younger brother’s wedding, John and I were in the reception line. Just a Dad and his prodigy. I introduced my son to the bride’s father and as John extended his hand to grasp his hand I said "shake". He started to shake his whole body as he and I do in moments of jest. That I think crystallized our family’s reputation from that moment on.

I have always felt that if people brought more humor into their everyday world that everything else would get a little lighter and less serious. God knows we are in a pretty bleak situation right now globally. But even if you can't change the world around you, you can at least lighten things up. Play the cards you have been dealt with but instead of always looking for the ace in the hole, just spend some time trying to find the joker.

By the way, the punch line for the joke I told my wife? Two, and I still don't know how they got in there.