Tag Archives: humor

It may appear otherwise, but I do like to laugh.

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Daily writing prompt
What makes you laugh?
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Well. Let me see.

I was pondering this one on the way to mass this morning. Strange I know. But that is just how the noggin on this ’59 Rambler works. Huh. Just came up with that one. Now I have a pretty decent nickname. Maybe a new email address? Passwords? The possibilities are endless. Thank goodness for all of you, there will be a conclusion to this one. Eventually. Guess what is next…

So humor to me has to work on several levels to make me laugh.

Surprise!

Things composed primarily of profanity, innuendo, insult and the like just really do nothing for me. Sam Kinnison had some moments, but that grew old fast. It was like there was no craft to it. No beginning, middle road and destination. Just shock. Maybe laughed ’cause of the state we were all in. And I don’t mean Illinois.

To elicit laughter, the transmitter somehow has to connect with the receiver in such a way as to be as one with them. Bring to mind a similar moment. Common thread. Shared experience. Perhaps the circumstance is not precisely the same, the individuals involved or what was said, how things were responded to and what happened next. Maybe it is just a “been there” moment. Something relatable. I am struggling for the right nomenclature.

I have never been a cat (been called something like it) or a mouse but Tom and Jerry crack me up to this day. The facial expressions, the yowls, smacks, situations just bring me to tears. Golfing. On the beach. Tom in the cradle saying, “Ah, goo” Out west, Texas Tom rolls a cig, Jerry licks it closed, he inhales the whole thing to exhale “Howdy” to the cowgirl next to him. Crambone.

I could go on and on. But to save on a gig or two, and stay true to my word on their being a conclusion. I will just list some others that make me laugh over and over.

Though my appearance says otherwise, I have no real connection to the brothers Jerome, Moe and Shemp, or their fellow stooge Lawrence.

To see me get up and walk in the morning, you would think I belong to the Ministry of Sillywalks. Same gait after I’ve been shopping.

Mr. Bean? Some quiet reflection is called for regarding that matter. I will get back to you on that.

Frank Drebbin taught me to mute when using the washroom.

The Barones, Michael Scott, Dwight Schrutt, Leslie Knope, Ron Swanson, “Jerry”.

Rob and Laura, Buddy and Sally, Mel, Allan.

Carol Burnett, Tim Conway and Harvey Korman.

Benny.

Muppets.

Tex Avery

AFV

All make me laugh over and over. So maybe its I see myself in a lot of these characters and the situations both they and I find myself in. When I recognize one, I may just smile and chuckle to myself. Or, if the mood is right, I will try to recreate the scene some how. Slap stick sound effects. Accents when called for. At the ready for a pun or three. Dad jokes? Guaranteed.

It may appear otherwise, but I do like to laugh.

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

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What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
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Oh my.

From a cinema perspective, I have seen the original Star Wars trilogy – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) – starting first in the theatres first and then on to watching at home in various ways, more than a dozen times.

I saw the first three Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King – when they opened in the theatres, and at least a half dozen times on the home screen now. Sort of jumped in when Titanic appeared, and have been watching that one when it surfaces during an evening of dead sea scrolling. Deadpool is up there, The Dark Knight, and the like are in the five plus crowd.

But by far, the most watched movie for me, spanning decades is:

I always find something different in it. The scene where Harry exalts his brother: “A toast to my big brother George: The richest man in town” still brings tears. Just did now. I will watch that one all the way to the end. Literally and figuratively.

TV shows?

That gets a little more complex.

Growing up in the suburbs, Sunday nights on the local WTTW station meant joining the circus.

Being that it was on Sundays meant me and my brother would watch it religiously. That is simply a pun. God, you know me.

Later in life, it became AFV, replacing the Pythons, every Sunday evening.

The ones where people get the crap scared out of them are the best. Kids in the flour bags and make up drawer a close second.

But this is where it gets tricky.

I have always loved the original Tom and Jerry cartoons. Tex Avery and Looney Toons close second and third. But then newer iterations get mixed in, like Shemps and Joes. But I could watch Tom, Jerry and Butch whack each other all day.

But by George, the longest running favorite of mine ever, though they are technically shorts, are by far, Moe, Larrry and Curly.

I have been watching them since my preteens and still watch them every week in my mid sixties.

We used to go to midnight Stooges festivals at the local theatre during highschool. And they have found a place on Me TV, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM each Saturday night. Leading into Svengoolie, another one I used to enjoy on WFLD back on the day.

In short, it’s a wonderful life when you can spread out and pick two.

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

That just happens to be our play-time.

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Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?
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To be honest, when I read this, I see it as “Daily Play Prompt”. Blessed to have come across it. Rather, happy that I tried it and found joy in doing so. Now I look forward to finding out what it will be the next day.

I am not much of a TV guy, other than some football games, old movies, cartoons and Stooges. Commercials are largely annoying for the most part, focused on the drug of the month, Bank cards and the like. But Matthew and Woody crack me up.

And I know this will come as a complete shock, but I happen to identify with the parental antics being therapeutically addressed by Dr. Rick. Not calling out the customer’s name, turning a photo op into 1 gig marathon, but some of the things people in the crowd at his seminar frown about.

Lawn care is not a hobby.

Breaking down cardboard boxes is not a thrill.

He did not mention sweeping the patio.

Nor did he specifically throw raking leaves and weeding into the mix

Maybe not play time per se. But sources of joy all the same. And all are an avenue of instant gratification. Where you engage in a short effort, work up a sweat, and produce palpable results within an hour or two. Having to push a mower for over an acre of grass is like a trip to PF. Talk about a core work out, rake the leaves in the fall and see how that feels the next day.

Play is what you make of it.

I love to listen to music, so being at a concert is play-time. But having a SoundTouch on the patio puts me in the front row. A vigorous walk around and through the neighborhood, saying “hi” to fellow walkers and kids on bikes or scooters is play. Once I get a bike, that will accompany walks as a form of play. and if my limbs loosen up some more, maybe I can even go back to flippin’ a tire across a field. Then I won’t be married to a gym for a workout.

When you come upon a renewable and revisable source of interest, that doesn’t just grow on you but grows you, I think that is what play-time is meant to be. A chance to engage several different aspects of your being into something that renews. Even work can be that, as long as you are able to find a joy similar to that pulling weeds.

So that being said, perhaps Dr. Rick should turn his attention to a wider audience. Like those that spend their life scrolling, playing video games, taking selfies and aiming for clicks. Mostly inside, alone even surrounded by friends. Maybe that is a market they have never even considered. Trying to get their attention would be about as successful as telling a parental client to stop shouting customer’s names off the cup in the local coffee shop.

I get it.

We parents do act like dorks from time to time.

But you know what?

That just happens to be our play-time.