What's Making You Laugh These Days?

Friends,

This week, I am going for something lighter: laughter.

Humor is such an important aspect of our lives. It helps put things in perspective without making us feel bad. I feel fortunate to have so many friends that have easy access to humor and who use it frequently. There are few things in my daily routine that I appreciate more than an email that makes me laugh, a call that makes me smile, or a post that cracks me up – particularly these days.

Many years ago, I saw this great letter from Katy to her parents (read it aloud …it’s funnier that way, I promise.)

Dear Mom and Dad!

After a few months in college, I decided I’d go to Cuba. I met this guy Tony. He works in the sugar fields. He is really cute. I got a job too.

Cleaning motel rooms. Unfortunately, I fell down the stairs and broke my two legs. But the doctor tells me I will be all right. And the baby too.

By the way, did I tell you I was pregnant? I don’t have any more time to write right now but I’ll get back to you in a few months.

Love from you daughter Katy

…..and then all the way down on the bottom of the next page…

Ps. I didn’t go to Cuba. I didn’t meet Tony. And I am not pregnant. But I failed my first chemistry exam and just wanted to put in perspective.

After all this time, it still makes me smile. What a great way to use humor as a weapon of mass distraction! There is also real science behind it. Here is one good article if you want to learn more about that. Of course, there is plenty of discourse on the matter, but the gist of it is that laughter releases healthy and productive hormones that we all crave more of! They help take the edge off danger and help us convert our fears into a more constructive attitude.

In many ways, laughter remains endearingly contagious. When you are surrounded by friends and someone starts laughing, it is like a wave. Laughter is a conductor. It transmits a certain kind of energy between us that is irresistible. Humor, therefore, helps bring people together. This is also probably one of the more serious implications of this pandemic. Our physical distance and the inability to gather have probably made us laugh less. NOT GOOD! However, this thoughtful article from the Atlantic argues that we might be laughing more in these difficult times, albeit remotely.

There are obviously so many forms and styles of humor. We all have our favorite flavor. As in most parts of life, I am a hopeless romantic. I am adverse to humor that is mean-spirited, overly political, or “dark”. I prefer humor that helps me to see in myself how fallible, imperfect, and totally normal my own shortcomings are. I know I run the risk of “sounding old,” but, I must say, I prefer humor of the past over the humor of the present –at least, as a general statement. You’ll notice most of my favorite laughs included below have a bit of age on them.

I worry that some conversations about “political correctness” have overcorrected in the arena of comedy. Paradoxically, I think many difficult social issues about race, sex, and gender benefit from laughter: when we laugh about our problems, it makes it easier to find a solution. Humor/comedy existed for a long time as a place "without rules" where "jokes can be jokes" – the relationship between the audience and comedian was built on trust. Trust that one could joke about very serious, very dark topics without also condoning them. However, in the age of technology and of hyper-surveilled celebrity, we now know so many details about public figures' lives. We are privy to their private thoughts, their private actions, and their private faults. I think, much like our politics, the social contract between comedian and audience has been corroded and that trust broken. I remain hopeful that trust will be repaired – progress is not always linear.

So, here is this week’s ask: please share below your favorite clip (or clips) that make you laugh out loud. How helpful would it be if we could have a list of things that made more of us laugh? Doesn’t matter if it is old or new – just share your favorites. I might dedicate a future post to the top 10 or 20 or 100 if they really made me laugh!

Laughter is like music and nature. It’s impossible to be angry when you laugh. It’s impossible to be very negative when you laugh. It brings out the best in me, and therefore, in us.

I hope you enjoy some of mine below – can’t wait to see some of yours.

Below you can enjoy in your browser some of my favorite clips that still make me laugh. You can also use these links if you prefer to open them up later or in another form.

• Robin Williams makes fun of golf (and, therefore, a big part of my life…but it still makes me smile!)

• This clip from When Harry Met Sally, one of my favorite movies. So many clips to choose from here….

• Jackie Mason has such a gift for delivery and making fun of the “small” things in life. This one is about raw fish!

• I love this Rowan Atkinson sketch - he plays the devil, also known as "Toby," and he welcomes new people to hell!

• I grew up laughing with Monty Python. Here is one I love. But here, here and here are some of my other favorites.

Thank you for making me laugh (Larry…this one is particularly for you!)

Robin Williams makes fun of golf (and therefore a lot my life…but still makes me smile)

One of my favorite movies. So many clips to chose from here….

Jackie Mason has such a gift for delivery and making fun of the “small” things in life. This one about raw fish!

In this funny sketch, Rowan plays the devil, also known as 'Toby', he welcomes new people to hell!

Grew up laughing with Monty Python. This is one. But here, here and here are some of my other favorites.