My humor is
no hyena. It’s
an architectural
rendering taped
to the entrance
of the new build
ing that came of
it. Or it’s at least
a 1,000 piece puzzle
done with family and/or
friends over a holiday.
It might be bawdy, full
of farts and snot and
other various human
and animal detritus. In
human from this might
be the consequence of
eating well and/or catch
ing a cold or a virus, or
just from too much belly
laughing. These are things
that happen that at times are
found funny and other times not,
but particularly the stuff that isn’t
usually funny, but looking at it a
particular way and finding the
humor in that angle is a rather
delicious mode of humor for
which I might attempt in
order to seek the life-
affirming sound of
audible laughter.
But, also, humor
can be found in our
most heinous earthly
tragedies: death, disease,
divorce, heartbreak, failure
and worse, however bad it gets,
if I might coax the humor that
surely exists in such subjects,
in such tragic circumstances,
that is a feat I’d gladly be
known to have done. Delight
can be eked out of anything,
but of course there are many
situations which are inherently
comical in and of themselves.
I don’t mind using those as,
say, backdrops during a
rather serious section of
a written piece that I’m
building. Which reminds
me that those moments
in life which we find so
incredibly serious, sob
ering, even, by which I
don’t mean tragic, but just
those things which traditionally
are not to be taken lightly – well –
I do love to find ways to milk a
bit of laughter from such moments
as these, so that the severity of
the one situation might be
indelibly tied to the light-
hearted and humorous
for as long as the memories
of those who witnessed or took
part in such a juxtaposition had
any cognition at all. Self-deprecation
is perhaps one of my most used types
of humor. This keeps me humble, and
I use it regularly enough that even during
the worst moments I encounter I might and
do often have to pause a moment for at least
an internal chuckle at the fine mess in which
I’ve found myself. Moments in which someone
(or even if that someone is me) embarrasses
themselves in front of a rather large group of
people can be hilarious, but should never be
done in such a manner as to further embarrass.
But we should all learn the humor in our various
embarrassments. Slapstick, physical, Chaplinesque
humor is a big treat for me, and to be part of the
physicality of such humor is one of the greatest
treats imaginable. To go further with that notion
just a bit, being a one-time actor for quite the
duration, doing or saying or being something
on stage that elicits audible laughter gives
to me something that nothing else can.
It is both immediate, like the quick pump
of endorphin through veins, and lasting,
because it enhances the little memory I
have, highlights it, in such a way that
it remains with me at all times, and
can be conjured, and is, particularly
during those moments when it’s
quite difficult to find humor in
any aspect of a particular
moment. Be that as it
may, it is during these
times more than any
other that I seek out
any bit, from any angle,
best as can be seen from me,
while I am in the midst of it, these
dour times, which seem to hit me with
more and more regularity these past few
years, well, this is where I’m virtually down
on my hands and knees looking for that speck
of humor, or that hidden gem of a guffaw, a
laugh that is so thorough that it is like a purge,
as if, say, a massage or a laxative or a purgative
might do – getting rid of whatever might be
toxic within me, allowing me to reconsider
the moment with a bit more focus, which
inevitably allows me to escape it just
that much faster. All because of
that thing most of us never deign
to take too seriously: things that
are funny, things that have humor,
anything that makes us laugh.
This is about the most serious
subject I can imagine.
