Q: Why was the baby ant so confused?
A: Because all of his uncles were ants.
Maybe this isn’t side-splitting humor. But laughter truly is the best medicine. You know that and you’ve heard it often. Laughter enhances your day, and it can make you a healthier person.
Laughter can help you sleep better. It can ease your anxiety and bolster your immune system. It can even tighten your abdominals. Laughter can also keep you around on this Earth longer. Funny guys like George Burns and Bob Hope lived long enough to kiss the century mark. There’s something about that joke-infused material.
Plenty of amusing little things can get you laughing. You can grab the comics section of the daily newspaper and see what Funky Winkerbean or the Lockhorns are up to today. It’s a lot more fun than checking which of your high school classmates made the obituaries.
Go see a stand-up comedian or two. Find the local comedy club and get there early so you can have that front-row seat where the comic can poke fun at you. Make sure to wear some hideous outfit that can add fodder to the comedian’s arsenal.
Will Rogers once said, “Everything’s funny as long as it’s happening to someone else.” It’s OK to be that someone else. Just don’t turn into that tough guy who gets pissed off at the comic for insulting you. Remember, you’re there to laugh … even if it is at yourself.
Make it a Blockbuster night. John Candy, the Marx Brothers, and Jim Carrey make nice humorous additions to your Saturday nights. My recent favorite comedy is Little Miss Sunshine. Ye olde schoolmarms won’t find much humor in the profanity-laced language of Alan Arkin’s character in this movie, but it made me laugh! Find your favorite flick, and let out some gregarious guffaws!
Clean the house, prepare the hors d’oeuvres, and get ready for game night! A game of charades should get the laughs rolling. There’s nothing more hilarious than watching your friend act out the title words to some movie after he’s quaffed four stiff gin and tonics. After a couple of hours of your best Marcel Marceau routines, dust off Twister and prove the inverse relationship between balance and alcohol intake — a comedy of errors nightcap.
Memories of those youthful indiscretions can get you a chuckle or two. Call up the old college pals and relive the time when you jumped off the fraternity house on a dare. It’s crazy how funny a broken arm, a concussion, and two broken teeth can seem after 15 years have gone by. Oh, what was I thinking anyway!
I love to laugh, and so should you. Your health is depending on you. You’ve got some funny business to attend to.
Knock, Knock! Who’s there? Take it from here, my friend!
Ron Blake is a funny little guy who tries to help people stay fit and healthy. He can be reached at www.myblakefitness.com.
