Laughing

My dad taught me how important laughter is.

When kids on the playground bullied him because of a childhood accident that resulted in one arm and hand being damaged, he made the bullies laugh and that solved the problem. He saw the funny side of most everything. Our family life was rich with good, healthy sarcasm, a sense of the ridiculous, and a love of finding a reason to laugh. One of my favorite things was to listen to him tell one of his favorite jokes or stories. He would laugh helplessly while telling it and it was truly contagious. Just before we lost him, he wrote, “Remember me laughing.” And I do.

Some of my favorite quotes are about laughter.

“All you need in the world is love and laughter. That’s all anybody needs. To have love in one hand and laughter in the other. ~ August Wilson

“I have always felt that laughter in the face of reality is probably the finest sound there is and will last until the day when the game is called on account of darkness. In this world, a good time to laugh is any time you can.” ~ Linda Ellerbee

“Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” ~ Mark Twain

I was trying to decide what is so special about comedians. What is funny is a very personal thing and is different for each of us. Some people make us laugh helplessly and others just aren’t on our wavelength.

Some of my all-time favorites are George Carlin, Robin Williams, Jonathan Winters, Tim Conway, Steven Wright, and Red Skelton.

Our son, makes me laugh until my stomach hurts and I’m begging him for mercy. He really gets into it, with facial expressions, funny movements, etc, building and building until I cannot take anymore.

The ability to stand back a bit and see some humor in what is happening around me is one of my most important survival skills.