I'll Explain What I Meme

 

Humor is a wonderful thing.

In my darkest times, it's laughter that fuels me.

It's laughter that will snap me back from a funk.

In turn, I try to do the same for anyone who needs a boost. I like it to break any tension.

But there's also a time and a place.

Yes, you're not as funny as you think.

So that meme you think will work? No. It probably won't.

Every joke you might have conjured as a 12-year-old should probably remain there.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm no prude and I still have a young attitude when it comes to all of this stuff but the fact is humor is as much about timing as anything else.

It's also about knowing your audience. I have certainly misfired in this regard where I thought I could help and, clearly, I couldn't.

Thus I've mostly retreated over the years into a more silent shell until the moment is right. Of course, that also means you might hear me laughing to myself because I think I have a great one-liner when, in reality, it would probably be dumb beyond belief.

But, also when dealing with humor, one must recognize that not everyone shares the same sense of humor.

Mine is dark. Goofy. Playful. Sometimes it's smart and sometimes it's quite dumb.

But I can also be a tough audience. While I think I have a pretty easy laugh I'm also not easily impressed. There's a TV show that a couple of people tried to convince me on. Both got me to watch it. Both were astounded when I didn't give it a glowing review.

It happens.

I truly believe in the power of laughter. I can never stress that enough yet I also believe in timing. It is everything. Maybe you wrote "too soon" on that political meme that you just HAD to share because, yes, it was too soon!

Or maybe it should have just never been used.

Or maybe just stay out of politics. What do I know?

(For the record there are plenty of funny memes and I do love me a good visual gag. But, again, timing)

Let me not head back down the enabling highway, which continues to be deep and wide, and oh my but I'm heading towards a "That's what she said" aren't I?

Friends, let us laugh till we aren't sure that we're not going to spit out whatever we just drank.

Let us howl until it might get dangerous because we can't breathe.

Normally, that's along the lines of Beavis and Butt-Head, Blazing Saddles, certain Loony Tunes cartoons, and even old episodes of The Dennis Miller Show (long story, and a whole different lifetime ago*).

*OK, so I got some news from someone circa 1992 that I handled with aplomb in person. Then I hung up the phone. Then I essentially turned into Dennis Miller, cha cha, minus the right-wing politics. I also should have learned from my mistake that night but at least I wound up with a child.

See? Well-placed and well-timed, amirite?

Oh, right, that joke played like many in that it brings that awkward chuckle or, worse, silence.

And so we leave it to the professionals. Two shows nightly!