Laugh. Laugh a Lot

 

Conway and Korman

Tim Conway is trending.

If you know who Tim Conway is then you're in good shape.

The guy could make people laugh.

Hard.

I just watched a skit he and Harvey Korman did on The Carol Burnett Show with Korman as a dental patient and Conway haplessly trying to administer Novocaine.

This was brilliant comedy of the era. What made it even funnier, of course, was that Korman could never keep a straight face at the antics of Conway.

Of course, there was also a skit years later with Dick Van Dyke in for Korman and Conway doing what he always did. The backstory, from what I've read, was that in rehearsals Conway would hold some of his mayhem back. Then, with the audience in place, he'd go all in.

In the case of the "Mama's Family" skit with Van Dyke, Burnett, and Vicki Lawrence, Conway goes way off to improvise a story about an elephant that is breaking everyone up.

Then Lawrence, out of nowhere, drops a bomb of an ad-lib (to be clear, it didn't make air) and the place fell apart.

The reason I went down this rabbit hole was Conway was born on this day in 1933 and, as I said he's trending.

The bigger reason I'm here is where would we be without laughter?

Seriously, it's how I've survived everything in life.

I'm the person you'll be saying, "How can you laugh at a time like this?" to.

Oh, don't get me wrong. There's always a line that shouldn't be crossed and there are those who think they are far funnier than they truly are. So it's not like I'm laughing at or yukking it up at anything.

But that was also that "back in my day" mentality of making fun of anyone and anything. We've evolved from that and gotten a bit more sensitive I suppose. 

Yet when the bottom drops out it's a sense of humor that keeps me going. I'm normally the first one to get to the joke at my own expense.

I'll certainly wax poetic about Tim Conway and The Carol Burnett Show and the things I watched as a kid. I'll more than happily tell you how brilliant Jackie Gleason was or All in the Family or any one of a number of classic comedies.

But this doesn't have to be a generational thing. Whatever and whoever makes you laugh is what is important here. I can watch Blazing Saddles and be a lost cause in a puddle of tears and unable to breathe just as easily as Robin Williams and Nathan Lane get my howling in The Birdcage.

Generally speaking, there is no right or wrong answer here. It's wonderfully subjective.

So as you're battling those winter blues or the holiday shopping lines or any one of a number of serious matters (again, all subjective), remember to laugh. There are plenty of ways to do so via entertainment or tour own anecdotes. Sometimes, simply looking at the ridiculousness of life is enough for a chuckle.

It truly is the best medicine.