Laughter

On my television right now is some heinous television show about river monsters hosted by some guy with an Australian accent. The river looks muddy and mirky and awful. Kind of like my pool right now, but I digress. It has that serious music playing in the background that is in all of the dramatic shows...a non-melodic march...interwoven with the sounds of Big Dave snoring on the couch.

I am SO stealing the remote.

Ah, little good that did me. There is truly nothing on. River Monsters it is...

I was so hoping that there was something decent to watch. If SEC football or "Pride and Prejudice" (the one with Keira Knightly in it) isn't on, I really love finding something that makes me laugh. That's pretty hard to find these days in the world of reality TV. Frankly, I get enough reality in my daily life. I'd really like to escape some of that instead of adopting other people's drama.

I've never been a fan of corny humor, though. I grew up listening to Jerry Clower records that my grandmother thought were hilarious and watching the Carol Burnett Show. We also watched a lot of Lawrence Welk, but I don't think that I've been permanently scarred except for a serious aversion to polyester durable knit and beehive hairdos. I never liked the obvious physical humor of the Three Stooges...although I have certainly watched my share of that as well.

I loved watching "I Love Lucy" because I could almost count on Lucy doing something boneheaded and yet being forgiven and overlooked as just "having some 'splainin' to do." I watched enough "Brady Bunch" to start noticing that their world was just a little too perfect and that the laughter was just a little too contrived. But did it stop me from watching? Hardly. And every afternoon after school...it was "Gilligan's Island." Such was life in the world when we had the big three networks, PBS, and Channel 17 (WTBS) out of Atlanta...Ted Turner's contribution to the world...cable television.

What I really like is humor that hits you a couple of seconds later...and you think..."Man, that was clever!" Even as campy as "The Nanny" is...you have to love the butler in that one. He totally cracks me up. Occasionally, Sponge Bob even makes me laugh. When I forget to focus on how annoying he is.

I think that most of us love the opportunity to laugh. We share jokes or funny videos with our friends because we want to pass it on. We post old pictures so that we can laugh at our fashion sense...or apparent lack thereof. We get together and reminisce and remember being young and stupid. Or older and stupid. Whatever.

The people that we enjoy spending time with are the people that make us laugh. They seem to have a way of taking a day that is just heinous...and turning it around for us. We all need that, you know. Life is hard. I mean, it is good...but we need the ability to lighten up or we'll get all sucked into the vortex of being a grownup.

Ick.

I have friends that have the most remarkably funny things happen to them. One in particular is hysterical just in the way that she relays whatever it was. She looks at life as a series of "I Love Lucy" shows that she stars in. She sees the humor in almost everything...and in so doing...she attracts me like this persistent gnat is to this laptop screen to her misadventures.

(Well, that gnat WAS attracted. Moving on.)

I love to find the light side in just about everything as well. Why sit around being all depressed and serious when nobody really wants to hear it anyway? I mean, that's been my experience anyway. Why be the epitome of efficiency if you can't have fun doing it?

That's what the ladies from last year's graduation reception learned. We just had a good time. Oh, it all got done, but we actually had a blast doing it. Might as well...

Oh, there are times when humor is inappropriate. Like at funerals, in the middle of church, or standing at an altar. But for just about everything else, life is far richer with tears of joy running down your face...even if you are laughing at yourself.

Like my friend, Bette, whose son's birth pictures in his baby book have the caption "photo not available" because of a camera (or husband...can't remember) malfunction.

Or a friend's diatribe about God's cruel joke...chin hair coupled with failing eyesight.

The fact that I busted it classically a week or so ago in front of Bryant-Denny stadium in Tuscaloosa in front of Tide Nation.

The granny who stood up at a kid's little league game and got thrown out because she went all Jerry Springer on my friend.

The lady who walked up Commerce Street with her skirt tucked into the back of her pantyhose that we saw from the 2nd floor window of the bank.

The couple who had to deal with the amorous affection of their two dogs outside the window where their company was gathered.

The birthday cake that was positioned in the middle of a table until someone decided to put the leaf in...but forgot to move the cake.

Hey, that's life. Stuff happens. And for that...and for laughter...I'm very grateful. Now, if I can just find "The Nanny" on Nick at Nite...