Laughter is the Best Medicine

I love humor. I love to hear a good joke or just have a good laugh. Growing up, my grandparents had a subscription to Reader's Digest. Laughter is the Best Medicine was a section featured in the magazine. It told amusing anecdotes and funny stories. There was another section called Life in These United States and one that featured the military. I read them every single month. I loved Mad magazine. I purchased every issue growing up. I bought Archie comics, Richie Rich comics and others of that sort. I wish I'd kept them, they'd probably be worth a fortune by now. I would purchase paperbacks of Mad's featured artists and satirists. I'd buy paperbacks of cartoons featuring certain cartoonists. I just loved humor. I still have quite a few of my paperbacks. Some date from the late '60s.

Humor can be very varied. Slapstick comedy, dark comedy, gross humor, dirty jokes, bathroom humor, puns, double entendres, etc. I really like it all. I realize that some people don't care for some particular types and that's okay. Humor is no different than anything else in terms of taste. My grandfather use to be a big joke teller growing up. He'd laugh just as hard at his own jokes as anybody else. He use to tell slightly bawdy jokes that I didn't understand but I'd laugh anyway with everyone else. I had a neighbor once who started telling jokes at a Halloween party. He reminded me of my grandfather. He had a ton of jokes and told them really well with enthusiasm. He's still very funny to this day. That Halloween he was dressed as a woman with a mustache. Funny sight to begin with before he opened his mouth and told a joke.

Humor does not have to be sophisticated. Bathing my sons in the bathtub, they would occasionally have gas and watching farts bubble to the surface is funny. They'd be laughing before the fart even broke the surface and they were under two years old. Guess they got the humor gene too. Laughing with them is always fun. Laughing to the point of tears is great fun.

In tough situations, sometimes humor is the best way to break the tension or lighten the mood. When my mother was dying of cancer, I remember moments when humor was used to offer levity to a dire situation. My mother would often be the one to try and lighten the mood. As relatives have passed away, humor works wonders at funerals. Remembering funny stories about your loved ones always brings a smile to your face.

Self depreciating humor is great when you have the right person involved. Having the self confidence to make fun of yourself or relay a less than stellar story about yourself can add to the humor. My brother is great at telling stories about himself that always leave me laughing. The same stories to boot. The jacket is probably his most classic.

So, I hope everyone has a sense of humor. Unfortunately, I know people that just don't laugh. I think that they just can't relax. I do believe that humor can be just what is needed to help us cope with life. It certainly helps me.

So, take two jokes and call me in the morning.

Doc Keith