I was once tasked with giving a “Humorous Speech” for a company meeting, and I was instructed to specifically give a speech which was considered “Humorous.” How could I do this? I’m NOT funny at all! I kept thinking about how I would accomplish this task and I thought to myself “But I LAUGH all the TIME!! How can I possibly not BE funny??”
Then it dawned on me. I am easily entertained! Other people have the task of being the class clown or the life of the party, and I’m in the peanut gallery just having a good ol’ time.
This was a great realization, but I STILL had to make a room full of men and women laugh – for at least 8 minutes. To say I was “sweating it” was an understatement. So, what did I do? I did what I do best – I told them a funny story.
I opened with the fact that I am not a very funny person, but I live to tell funny stories because my experiences are so diverse and exciting – and also because I find things funny SO easily. In fact, I get myself in trouble laughing at inappropriate times. I was the kid who always had letters sent home saying “She is a pleasure to teach, but she talks too much in class.” Let me tell you, I didn’t talk a lot, I just laughed at other students cutting up, and I couldn’t keep it quiet when I did.
My adult life is no different. One day, my boss (who is former military – very strict and by the book) held a unplanned meeting with my team and he said in a very serious tone, “We must frack down on craud.” What he meant to say was “We must crack down on fraud.” He is so strict and straight faced, he didn’t even correct himself, he just moved on hoping no one would notice his error. Of course, I noticed, and of course I couldn’t just let it go. I started laughing. I tried to hide it, but I couldn’t. I spent the next 5 minutes with him glaring at me waiting on me to stop laughing, but what he didn’t realize is directing attention to me by staring at me just got me nervous…which made me laugh harder!
So not only do I laugh at times I shouldn’t, when I think something is funny, I can’t hold it in until an appropriate time.
I have a baby sister who is 5 years younger than me, so I remember a lot of things from our childhood that she doesn’t remember, because she was too young.
One time my mom took us to the mall, but before we got out of the car she was looking at her checkbook (I guess to see how much money she had available to spend). My sister crawled out of her booster seat (she was 2 at the time, I was 7) and she started pestering my mom by saying her name over and over. “Mom! Mom! Mommy! Mom! Mama!!!”
My mother turned around and yelled, “WHAT!?”
My mom’s yell was so loud and so direct that it seemed to physically throw my sister down into her seat in the car without anyone even having to touch her. The car became silent!
My sister sat in shock for a second and then looked at my mom and in her 2 year old toddler voice she said “Ewww, Scary!”
It’s safe to say I got my habit of “outburst” from my mother because we BOTH erupted into laughter at my sister’s very snarky, yet very innocent observation.
I love my sister so much! And would NEVER want to do anything to embarrass her, but not even she is free from my inappropriate timing of laughter. So when I was 18 years old and she was 13, she had a crush on a boy I grew up with, which at the time was a big deal (a 13 year old in love with an 18 year old!? Hello!!!). This boy I grew up with had a part time job at the dump yard where we went every other Saturday to drop off our trash.
My mom had, apparently, gone through my sister’s clothes she had grown out of and found a bunch of underwear to get rid of. So, she boxed it up and sealed it, so it would be hidden when we took it out of the tailgate of our truck. I didn’t know what was in the box, I just knew I needed to throw it down the shoot.
My sister went with me to the dump, so she could “run into” my friend, and while she was getting her FLIRT on with him, I grabbed that box and threw it in the dump (which we could see straight down into). No joke, RIGHT when I threw that box into the shoot, the compressor turned on to crush all the trash to make space for more, and the seals on that box started to peel open.
I don’t know why but we all three sat there and watched the box get crushed but we did. That box suddenly EXPLODED in a way I didn’t even know was possible. Physics were defied! It was like watching a cartoon. Little girl panties went flying everywhere!
And let’s just say, they were CLEARLY not mine. The designs were those of a little girl’s so, everyone knew they were hers, including Mr. McDreamy!
I couldn’t help myself, I started 'snort' laughing and got back into the car. Tears were rolling down my face and I just knew I needed to hide before I embarrassed her more. She was mortified and got into the car furious at me. When I could calm down, I asked why she was mad and she said, “You could have at LEAST waited to laugh until we left!”
No sis, I truly wish I could, but I just simply do not possess the self-control.
One thing is for certain, when my “time” has come, I will leave this world with a lifetime of memories and most will be filled with laughter.
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