A Time to Laugh

There isn’t much to be cheery about lately. Pretty much everything we have been barraged with has been quite negative. But even in the most serious of times, it is important to smile and laugh. Humor is an essential element to a balanced and happy life.

I once was attended by a neurologist that had an extremely dry wit. Moreover, he spoke in a nasally monotone that made intoned nuances and emotional intent elusive. I think that many people didn’t realize it at all, but this guy was constantly injecting humor. And much of it was pretty funny stuff.

Not everyone can appreciate deadpan humor. I have a brother that excels at it. I have another brother that is the family funny man. He’s been that way since we were kids. He has a natural ability to make people laugh. He even had the congregation laughing at my Dad’s funeral and it didn’t seem inappropriate at all.

I notice that my children have different styles of humor. My oldest son very much likes sarcasm. He doesn’t mind humor with a sharp edge or a dark hue to it.

My #2 son has worked at being funny over the past few months. He really came to love this Pablo Francisco comedy routine called Little Tortilla Boy:


My son liked it so much that he worked to mimic it, and then he expanded on it. A few weeks ago his high school had tryouts for acts for their homecoming assembly. My son tried out and was accepted.

I went to the auditorium the morning of the assembly with my video camera. The place was swarming. I had to stand at the back, where I had a good view of the stage, but was a fair distance away.

The girl that did the first act sang a patriotic country song. She had a beautiful voice, but she was not an entertainer. She just stood still and sang. This was just as school was starting. Many students were greeting each other and talking over her performance. The audience was not engaged with the performer. I felt badly for her.

Then my son came out and did his performance. It took only a few seconds for the audience to become engaged. The response was great. Even the teachers were impressed. Unfortunately my position made the images shaky and infused a lot of audience noise. Still, it’s a pretty good performance for a kid his age. And it’s funny.