Don't Need Nitrous Oxide, Just a Little Sandler
I love to laugh.
Some of my friends may think I imbibe in nitrous oxide a bit too much. Folks, that is who I am. I like the funny side of things.
Every week I pick up the New Yorker at Barnes and Noble for the cartoons. OK, I read the articles, too, like Larry David's humorous piece, "Fore."
"I’ll never be good. It’s just not something I’m suited for. That’s O.K. I’m good at other things. What those are I have no idea. But I’m sure there are some. Flossing and dish washing come to mind. Getting people I can’t stand to like me is another. But golf ? No. I will never stand over the ball without considering the disaster about to befall me. I’ll never line up a putt and think I’ll make it. Never face a chip without fearing the decal. And yet I’ll continue to play, because I do hit some good shots, especially when I’m on the driving range. I actually hit some great range shots. What the hell is that? I’ve had swing compliments on the range. 'I love your tempo,' a woman once said to me. That’s right—I have good tempo. I’ve had many other range compliments that I won’t bore you with, but, believe me, I’m an eight or a nine on the range. So it’s clearly psychological. I wonder . . . what if I blindfolded myself ? Is it possible?! Have I stumbled upon the Secret? It makes sense. The reason I can’t hit the ball is that I can see it! Tomorrow I’m going to play blindfolded..."
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2011/07/04/110704sh_shouts_david#ixzz1RvDriSV5
I think David describes my comical forays into golf. Like him, I am an absolute failure on the links. Most times, I draw a number of laughs from those who are part of my foursome. It is what I do.
Too this day, I think it should be a city ordinance - wherever I am -- to require notice to the citizens that I am swinging irons at their local country club. So doing David's thing and going "blindfolded," probably will help.
A few years ago, at The Bluffs course in Vermillion, S.D. I am teeing off on the sixth hole when the face shaft breaks away and ends up in a nearby water bed. What? I am just happy that someone didn't get hurt.
Or, another time while on a university athletics outing, I am again teeing off when the club slips from my hand - in my best major league baseball losing my bat impression - and flies about 35 feet, some 10 feet farther than the ball. And, yes, there was a group (volleyball coaches from the University) on a nearby hole looking quizzically at me, with good reason.
Now, I have laughed with others about the great golf stories (some can't be true) that come from experiences on the greens. I will likely share more in the future and as years pass, the embellishment of storytelling will grow. Two-hundred yard drives become 300, a five-foot putt becomes 35-foot, a chip to within 20 feet is actually holed.
So, whether true or not, my golf outings provide a bit of levity for anyone watching. And, yes, I laugh at my own failings out on the course.
All of this laughter is fun. Laughing makes me feel better. Medical researchers and other health brainiacs tell us about the benefits of laughing.
Like this piece from http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm:
"Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. In addition to the domino effect of joy and amusement, laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use."
The same article notes that a person gets health benefits for 45 minutes or so after a good chuckle or two.
So, whether it is at home or watching a show at a local comedy act or watching 40-somethings try their hand at some sport, there is substantial value in humor.
Every morning, I throw on my khaki shorts, Steelers t-shirt, Detroit Tigers hat and head out for a walk with my English Springer Spaniel Sierra. Out in "her field," Sierra chases after golf balls like she is caddying for Adam Sandler (in "Happy Gilmore"). Soon she is off chase butterflies, rousting birds and just being herself. It is all fun, filled with a laugh, even if no one is out there.
At home, every night Sierra makes me smile at night when she grabs her toy cotton football and then kicks a golf ball around the room. Now, the golf ball often ends underneath furniture. Still, as I am reaching for the ball under the coach or some table, I finding myself laughing.
Pets provide therapeutic value, no doubt. But there are so many releases for us to finding those farcical moments. As we sit around our lawn chairs with burgers on the grill, potato salad mixed with chips on our picnic tables and various beverages in our hands, funny stories fill the air waves.
I see humor in a lot of things - some serious, where I think the only remedy is to laugh, because it is too asinine to comprehend otherwise. Maybe the extrovert in me draws out the openness. Humor begets courtesy I think.
Sometimes, especially in those times (like now) that people struggle with finances and life, we forget the laughter can help people find an escape.
My advice is to take time to enjoy the fun in life and laugh not a little but a lot. The late great Jim Valvano, who was the coach of the national championship North Carolina State Wolfpack (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney03/story?id=1525209) in 1983, said:
"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about, If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jimvalvanoespyaward.htm
Jimmy V is gone now, a victim of cancer, but his message resonates. That speech is used by ESPN and other to raise money for cancer, a very worthwhile effort (http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/ESPNRadiothonSplashPage. Valvano, until the day he died, had a great smile and unique personna. I miss him, as thousands of others do. His infectious attitude is one that made many people laugh a little. We need more Jimmy Vs.
People have always suspected that I have a truly "sad sack" sense of humor. Yes, the Zero (from Beatle Bailey comics) personality is in me. I love Jack Handey's "Deep Thoughts," as strange as some of those passages were on Saturday Night Live and now can be found on the Internet or in humor section of a book store.
Chris Rock is absolutely hilarious and Larry the Cable Guy gets me going. Sitcoms with Kevin James, Will Ferrell in nearly anything, and Adam Sandler in "Billy Madison" or any number of his movies, all move me to laughter, sometimes in such a way that tears follow.
Have any of you laughed so hard that your stomach hurt? I have - and it needs to happen more often. I think of the sitcom, "King of Queens," when "Carrie" is making a cake for a church bake sale and doesn't get it done. So, "Doug" tells her that instead of buying a cake, as she had done before he destroyed it, they coat a couch pillow with chocolate frosting. "Doug" tells "Carrie" not to worry because they will buy the cake. However, at the church sale, they are informed the cakes will be sold through a game of musical chairs, but with cakes. "Doug" and another guy are the final two guys in the game. As the game winds down, the other guy ends up with "Carrie's" cake because Doug is marvelling at a volcano cake spewing caramel instead of focusing on "Carrie's" cake. The guy says: "hey this is a pillow with frosting!"
I swear I am still rolling in the aisles over that scene.
If you find yourself a little grouchy, call a friend (with a sense of humor) and laugh a little. Life is too short - laughing is one of the joys.
Maybe put a little humor in your lives by loggin on to You Tube and find some Ferrell and Sandler clips, such as I did from, "Billy Madison." This clip, which always cracks me up, is when Sandler has to take part in an academic decathlon to try and keep his father's company (which he gives up later). Sandler thinks he nail the questions, until a judge in not so subtle terms, disagrees. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfYJsQAhl0&playnext=1&list=PL22EB3911FA6730D6
This video and other pieces of humor are good for the soul. If you don't already know, laughing will make your day a little brighter and provide you with more of the positive glass half full perspective.
At least it does for me.
Some of my friends may think I imbibe in nitrous oxide a bit too much. Folks, that is who I am. I like the funny side of things.
Every week I pick up the New Yorker at Barnes and Noble for the cartoons. OK, I read the articles, too, like Larry David's humorous piece, "Fore."
"I’ll never be good. It’s just not something I’m suited for. That’s O.K. I’m good at other things. What those are I have no idea. But I’m sure there are some. Flossing and dish washing come to mind. Getting people I can’t stand to like me is another. But golf ? No. I will never stand over the ball without considering the disaster about to befall me. I’ll never line up a putt and think I’ll make it. Never face a chip without fearing the decal. And yet I’ll continue to play, because I do hit some good shots, especially when I’m on the driving range. I actually hit some great range shots. What the hell is that? I’ve had swing compliments on the range. 'I love your tempo,' a woman once said to me. That’s right—I have good tempo. I’ve had many other range compliments that I won’t bore you with, but, believe me, I’m an eight or a nine on the range. So it’s clearly psychological. I wonder . . . what if I blindfolded myself ? Is it possible?! Have I stumbled upon the Secret? It makes sense. The reason I can’t hit the ball is that I can see it! Tomorrow I’m going to play blindfolded..."
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2011/07/04/110704sh_shouts_david#ixzz1RvDriSV5
I think David describes my comical forays into golf. Like him, I am an absolute failure on the links. Most times, I draw a number of laughs from those who are part of my foursome. It is what I do.
Too this day, I think it should be a city ordinance - wherever I am -- to require notice to the citizens that I am swinging irons at their local country club. So doing David's thing and going "blindfolded," probably will help.
A few years ago, at The Bluffs course in Vermillion, S.D. I am teeing off on the sixth hole when the face shaft breaks away and ends up in a nearby water bed. What? I am just happy that someone didn't get hurt.
Or, another time while on a university athletics outing, I am again teeing off when the club slips from my hand - in my best major league baseball losing my bat impression - and flies about 35 feet, some 10 feet farther than the ball. And, yes, there was a group (volleyball coaches from the University) on a nearby hole looking quizzically at me, with good reason.
Now, I have laughed with others about the great golf stories (some can't be true) that come from experiences on the greens. I will likely share more in the future and as years pass, the embellishment of storytelling will grow. Two-hundred yard drives become 300, a five-foot putt becomes 35-foot, a chip to within 20 feet is actually holed.
So, whether true or not, my golf outings provide a bit of levity for anyone watching. And, yes, I laugh at my own failings out on the course.
All of this laughter is fun. Laughing makes me feel better. Medical researchers and other health brainiacs tell us about the benefits of laughing.
Like this piece from http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm:
"Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. In addition to the domino effect of joy and amusement, laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use."
The same article notes that a person gets health benefits for 45 minutes or so after a good chuckle or two.
So, whether it is at home or watching a show at a local comedy act or watching 40-somethings try their hand at some sport, there is substantial value in humor.
Every morning, I throw on my khaki shorts, Steelers t-shirt, Detroit Tigers hat and head out for a walk with my English Springer Spaniel Sierra. Out in "her field," Sierra chases after golf balls like she is caddying for Adam Sandler (in "Happy Gilmore"). Soon she is off chase butterflies, rousting birds and just being herself. It is all fun, filled with a laugh, even if no one is out there.
At home, every night Sierra makes me smile at night when she grabs her toy cotton football and then kicks a golf ball around the room. Now, the golf ball often ends underneath furniture. Still, as I am reaching for the ball under the coach or some table, I finding myself laughing.
Pets provide therapeutic value, no doubt. But there are so many releases for us to finding those farcical moments. As we sit around our lawn chairs with burgers on the grill, potato salad mixed with chips on our picnic tables and various beverages in our hands, funny stories fill the air waves.
I see humor in a lot of things - some serious, where I think the only remedy is to laugh, because it is too asinine to comprehend otherwise. Maybe the extrovert in me draws out the openness. Humor begets courtesy I think.
Sometimes, especially in those times (like now) that people struggle with finances and life, we forget the laughter can help people find an escape.
My advice is to take time to enjoy the fun in life and laugh not a little but a lot. The late great Jim Valvano, who was the coach of the national championship North Carolina State Wolfpack (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney03/story?id=1525209) in 1983, said:
"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about, If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jimvalvanoespyaward.htm
Jimmy V is gone now, a victim of cancer, but his message resonates. That speech is used by ESPN and other to raise money for cancer, a very worthwhile effort (http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/ESPNRadiothonSplashPage. Valvano, until the day he died, had a great smile and unique personna. I miss him, as thousands of others do. His infectious attitude is one that made many people laugh a little. We need more Jimmy Vs.
People have always suspected that I have a truly "sad sack" sense of humor. Yes, the Zero (from Beatle Bailey comics) personality is in me. I love Jack Handey's "Deep Thoughts," as strange as some of those passages were on Saturday Night Live and now can be found on the Internet or in humor section of a book store.
Chris Rock is absolutely hilarious and Larry the Cable Guy gets me going. Sitcoms with Kevin James, Will Ferrell in nearly anything, and Adam Sandler in "Billy Madison" or any number of his movies, all move me to laughter, sometimes in such a way that tears follow.
Have any of you laughed so hard that your stomach hurt? I have - and it needs to happen more often. I think of the sitcom, "King of Queens," when "Carrie" is making a cake for a church bake sale and doesn't get it done. So, "Doug" tells her that instead of buying a cake, as she had done before he destroyed it, they coat a couch pillow with chocolate frosting. "Doug" tells "Carrie" not to worry because they will buy the cake. However, at the church sale, they are informed the cakes will be sold through a game of musical chairs, but with cakes. "Doug" and another guy are the final two guys in the game. As the game winds down, the other guy ends up with "Carrie's" cake because Doug is marvelling at a volcano cake spewing caramel instead of focusing on "Carrie's" cake. The guy says: "hey this is a pillow with frosting!"
I swear I am still rolling in the aisles over that scene.
If you find yourself a little grouchy, call a friend (with a sense of humor) and laugh a little. Life is too short - laughing is one of the joys.
Maybe put a little humor in your lives by loggin on to You Tube and find some Ferrell and Sandler clips, such as I did from, "Billy Madison." This clip, which always cracks me up, is when Sandler has to take part in an academic decathlon to try and keep his father's company (which he gives up later). Sandler thinks he nail the questions, until a judge in not so subtle terms, disagrees. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfYJsQAhl0&playnext=1&list=PL22EB3911FA6730D6
This video and other pieces of humor are good for the soul. If you don't already know, laughing will make your day a little brighter and provide you with more of the positive glass half full perspective.
At least it does for me.
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