What's Life Without A Laugh

Sometimes you get the giggles when you should be serious. You know what I mean. You notice something comical during a solemn ceremony. I remember the first time I laughed in church. Although we always went to St. Francis Xavier in Brimley, some summer Sundays Dad drove us to St. Joseph’s in Rudyard. I was in my teens and often saw the funny side of things at the wrong time.

After communion it was customary to kneel in our pew until the host melted on our tongue. The people in front of us had flipped up their kneeling pad. When they returned from communion, they forgot the pad was up not down. As they knelt, they fell to the floor like dominoes. No one was harmed, but the mishap struck us as funny. Mom tried to look serious as she grinned and shook her head at me. Dad pretended to hide his laugh in a cough which only made our feeble attempt at proper decorum all the more hilarious.

Then there was the time I attended the wake of an elderly relative. I didn’t know him when he was alive and his passing didn’t affect me one way or the other. When I knelt to pay my respects, I noticed Cousin Leroy was wearing glasses which created in me an immediate urge to chuckle. 

I wasn’t being rude, but I saw the absurdity in his final sendoff. Why in this world or the next would he need glasses? It made no sense, but I realized the poor fellow had no say in the matter. I’ve left strict instructions my spectacles are not to follow me to the undertaker’s.

Laughing in the face of somber or embarrassing situations is one way of dealing with them. If we’re nervous or afraid, laughter is as good a release as any and better than some. It’s the old “Whistle a Happy Tune” syndrome and no one will suspect your discomfort. The Irish are a great lot for finding humor in the midst of tragedy. Other than turning to drink, how else could we survive our troubles?

Flash and I have laughed our way through many an argument. He’s as Irish as I am. We balance our tempers and melancholy with humor or we never would have endured 15 minutes let alone 15 years. Often folks who appear the most carefree are just putting on a show. There’s no point in being a sad sack or a wet blanket. Nobody’s interested in someone else’s tale of woe because everybody has their own.

 When you can’t do anything about your disappointing plight, dig deep and find the humor in it. It’s there somewhere.