OK, since I talked at length about crying, and my utter disdain for it, I thought I'd share my thoughts on laughter with you, faithful reader.In short, I find laughter to be beautiful, lovely. Gorgeous, even.
I like to hear people laugh. Grown adult laughter is a nice sound.
This is why I never went for sitcoms like The Office which lack a laugh track. A comedy without laughter, even piped laughter, just seems empty. The key to a joke is to hear the resultant laughter and that's what every good sitcom ought to contain.
Did you ever notice that when someone is laughing to the LOL or even LMAO stage, it becomes infectious? Many's the time I've heard my wife or a friend or whatever laughing and I would laugh too, even if I had no idea what was so funny. Just the sound of a person splitting their sides can start me off.
In fact, laughter is my release. You see, I don't cry to release tension. I'll find something to laugh at and I'll feel the frustration melt away, even if just for a little while.
I know it seems strange. Here I am, a lifetime member of the Piss-and-Moan-About-Everything Club, not exactly a warm, friendly sort, a curmudgeon who idolizes Archie Bunker, and someone who doesn't miss a chance to criticize and lob bitterly sarcastic remarks at anything and everything that ticks me off. My father once called me an angry young man—on Christmas Day, no less—and I thought that was one of the nicest things he ever said to me.
But I cannot for the life of me understand people who are so hacked off with the world that they don't laugh, can't laugh and reserve contempt for those who find it easy to laugh.
As long as I have laughter in my life, and the ability to laugh, I know my life is worth living.
8 comments:
You know I agree about canned laughter. That DVD of the Only Fools & Horses episode "To Hull & Back" just wasn't the same laughter-free. That's why I gave it to Mum. They should say on the cover that it's had the laughter removed.
OK, so sometimes I start telling myself jokes in my head, and of course these are jokes that only i would find funny, and I start laughing and laughing and I can't stop. My Dh calls it "getting on the giggle bus".
Laughing is good medicine.
Children's giggles are so cute!! Seriously dragon, we need to get you a child. Your whole perspective on life will change. And wouldn't that be sweet--a baby dragon.....
Well, hon, the thing is, I know and appreciate the humor in "Only Fools ...", so I know when to laugh, what to laugh at, etc. Other anti-laugh track comedies I don't like because I'm not familiar with them. But agreed, "OFAH" is so much more enriched with the laugh track.
Eden -- seriously? That's awesome, because I do the exact same thing myself. I make up funny scenarios and dialogues in my head, especially while doing the dishes (which I hate), and that gets me on the giggle bus too! It helps me get through the dishes, though that's far from the only time I amuse myself in such a manner.
Kristen -- That's what they say: Good medicine. I agree. No thanks on the kid. I'm happy with the way I am, even if I am a persnickety sort. I don't desire change, especially at the hands of a brat. Besides, just because I'm a dragon doesn't necessarily mean my offspring would be. It doesn't work like that; it's not that straightforward. But it's way too much to get into in this space. (Not that I'm ducking the issue -- e-mail me anytime if you desire my full explanation.)
When I visited Germany a few years ago and stayed there for 2 1/2 months I made a few friends. One german I made friends with, Klaus, told me one day that he'd know my laugh anywhere in the world. Of course I had to ask him if that was a good thing? He said it was and that my laugh was the most infectious he'd ever heard.
One show that I watch in syndication that gets tons of laughs out of me is "Two and a Half Men". It's a senseless sitcom, but man is it funny!
There's these commercials here that show different things and then put numbers next to them indicating how many years each thing will add to your life. The commercial says laughter will add 8+ years to your life. As much as I laugh, I'll live to be a few hundred years old!
And one more thing....
My mother once called me a self-centered, egotistical bastard...doen't mean I was one, parents just seem to have a way with words sometimes!
And no one would ever call you an angry YOUNG man...not anymore anyway...you old fart! Of course I say that in jest...as I just had a birthday...I'm getting really good at being 29....I outta be, I've been doing it for twenty years now!
I'm just messing with you dragon, because I know how much you DON'T want a child. ;-)
Oh there are many Britcoms that I've laughed at until my gut burst XD. The Benny Hill Show, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Keeping Up Appearances, Are You Being Served, Waiting For God, One Foot In The Grave, Chef, Last Of The Summer Wine, The Good Neighbours, Butterflies, To The Mannor Born, The Two Ronnies, Open All Hours, Only Fools and Horses, Bless Me Father, Mr. Bean, My Hero, My Family, Couplings, Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, 'Allo 'Allo, On The Buses, Mind Your Language, Dave Allen At Large, and many many more!
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