Laugh

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures." -- Irish Proverb

As far as I know, we have no Irish in our family tree, but I adopt good sense from wherever it comes. Laughter comes easily to me, even in the face of adversity. Many periods in my life, I could swear were preparation for a stand-up comedy routine.

The first time my son saw a Good Humor truck, it ran over Santa Claus. (He was six and Santa Claus was his kitten. Really a sad occasion, but just try to explain what happened and keep a straight face.)

One afternoon both the psychiatrist and counselor I was seeing for depression (brought on by feelings of rejection) called to cancel my appointments.

At one point, I had so many Johns in my life I should have been more financially secure than I was. (A son, an ex-husband, two men I was dating, and my insurance guy. Our receptionist was confused on more than one occasion when I'd get a call from one of them.)

And I love jokes but I can never tell them right. Well, all except the anti-racist one about the cowboy hat, but it's obscene so I can't tell it here. Or very many places, for that matter.

A favorite joke of mine has the punch line that goes "transporting gulls past stately lions for immortal porpoises." But I can never remember the rest of the joke.

And then there's the joke a computer science teacher told in class. I was the only one who got it.

Descartes walks into a bar.
The bartender asked, "would you like a drink?"
Descartes said, "I think not," And poof. He disappeared.

This was a freshman college class I took as an older student -- like over 30. I think I was the only one who knew Descartes was the 17th Century French philosopher who said, "I think, therefore, I am."

I got an A in the class.

The last time I told that joke, I kinda messed up the punch line. The way I told it is immortalized on the mirror in our entryway by my daughter. See picture below.

They all already knew the joke so it was a good thing they weren't drinking pop when I told it wrong. Forceful expulsion of a carbonated beverage through the nose during a sudden fit of laughter can be painful.